Hell Hath No Fury
by IDoItForLovin
Summary: Once Agent Rebecca Smith found out that she was pregnant, and she cut all ties and went into hiding, creating an identity for herself and settling down in a town that no one would look for her. Eighteen years later, her daughter, Valencia finds a box full of notes and a polaroid of a strange man with an eye patch named 'Fury.' *Takes Place During CA:WS*
1. The Music Box

Valencia Smith had a normal childhood. She had a beautiful, loving mother named Rebecca and a handsome, devoted father named Daniel. She was an adorable child, having been blessed with her mother's facial features and her father's brown eyes. She lived in a big house in the suburbs and went to catholic school. She had everything she wanted and more and was a perfect child. She had a 4.5 GPA and got even got a scholarship to Howard University in D.C.

From the time Valencia was born, her mother had doted on her. She had told Valencia she was her light in the dark, her little champion. Because of that, Valencia and her mother had a great relationship. As Valencia grew up she even started to look like her mother, which she adored. The only difference between the two women is that Valencia is 5'5 with brown eyes and her mother is 5'8 with green eyes.

Valencia and her father had a pretty good relationship, but she couldn't help but feel like there was a slight awkwardness between them, but Valencia thought it was normal for a father and daughter to be this way.

Valencia's life was not perfect, but the closest thing to it.

Val had been snooping around the attic, looking for her mother's old clothes to thrift and wear again for senior spirit day. As she was looking through the boxes of off shoulder tops and tight pants, she found a small jewelry box with a four digit lock. Val looked at the mahogany box curiously, tracing her fingers over the heart shaped carvings on the lid.

"Lena!" Her mother called for her, making the brown eyed girl jump.

"Yes, mama?" She replied.

"Clean yourself up, dinner's almost ready!" The mother informed her daughter.

"Okay!" Valencia grabbed the box and walked down the ladder from the attic, she quickly put the ladder back up and ran to her room. Locking her door behind her, she examined the box in her hands closely. She plopped down on her purple bedspread, still studying the lock on the jewelry box. Val chewed on her lip, a nervous habit that would form over the years, and put in a random combination.

1-1-7-0, her mother's lucky numbers. In a stroke of luck, the lock clicked and the jewelry box opened. A tune began to play softly, which made Valencia quickly close the box. Startled, she opened the box again, this time slowly, and the tune played again. Val recognized the melody, it was an old song called 'Greensleeves' her mother used to sing her to sleep to. Valencia smiled softly and dumped all the things from the box on her bed. Sitting on her knees, she began to look through the contents of the box.

There were polaroids, handwritten letters, a small bottle of perfume, and an almost empty lipstick tube. Valencia, wide eyed and curious, picked up a letter and read it to herself.

"My Darling Nicholas,

I love when you write to me. Your words are the only thing that keep me grounded in my solitary life of espionage. You have told me that you will be in Calcutta next month, I will try to meet you at our usual spot. I feel you with me everywhere I go; I wish we could just leave all of this behind and be together. I feel idiotic telling you all of this by paper and pen, but I can't help how I feel. Please tell me that I'm not alone…

Until we meet,

Blackbird."

Valencia furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at the signed name; was blackbird her mother's nickname? And who was Nicholas? And when the hell was her mother a spy? She thought she was a real estate agent!

Valencia picked up a polaroid of her mother and some man. Her mother had a wide smile on her face and the man had his arms wrapped around her shoulders, a small smirk on his face.

Valencia couldn't take her eyes off the man. He was very handsome, despite an eyepatch being over one of his eyes. She turned the picture around and read the back 'Birdie and Fury '87'. She put the polaroid back in the jewelry box and picked up another letter.

"Birdie,

Our situation is dangerous, we could both be killed for treason against our organizations if we were to be found out. But that does not stop my infatuation with you. When I first saw you, I knew that we were meant to be. That white dress you had on looked beautiful sprinkled with my blood. Your petite hands were the perfect fit to my neck, and your long legs struck me with the strength of a horse. I felt like cupid's arrow had struck me in my chest. You're green eyes looked so pretty glaring up at me from under my gun. If I never see you again, that image would be enough to hold me over for a lifetime.

Always Yours,

Fury."

Valencia jumped when she heard a knock at her door.

"Lena? Why is your door locked? You got a man in there?" Her mother joked as she jiggled the knob, trying to get in.

Valencia quickly cleaned up the contents of the box and hid the box under her pillow, she ran to the door and opened it.

Her mother stood in front of her with her arms crossed over her chest. "Dinner's ready, nugget."

Valencia nodded, looking frazzled, "Alright Mom." Her mother looked at her suspiciously then twirled around on her heel, heading to the kitchen. Valencia followed her mother, chewing her lip.

"Hey kid!" Her dad greeted Valencia as she sat down at the table.

"Hey Daddy." She replied with a smile.

"How was school?"

Valencia shook her head, "It was fine Dad, I'm just waiting my other admissions and scholarships to go through."

Her father furrowed his brow at his daughter, "Now Val, I don't want you to get any ideas about going to New York for college, it's just not safe."

Valencia rolled her eyes, "Dad, I'm sure the whole 'alien attack' thing is a once in a lifetime deal."

He opened his mouth to protest but his wife came out the kitchen with a dish of spaghetti. She sat the dish down and sat at the head of the table, looking between her husband and her daughter.

They said grace and then her mother continued the conversation "Daniel leave the child alone, if she wants to go to New York, let her go to New York! I've faced a lot worse than aliens in my day!"

Valencia picked at her spaghetti, "I bet you have…" She muttered.

"What?" Her mother said, quickly catching her daughter's quiet tone.

"I think she means, what possible trouble could you have gotten in at real estate school?" Her dad said with a mouthful of spaghetti.

"Yeah," Valencia quickly said, "Like asbestos and mold don't really count as 'dangerous' Mom."

Her mom squinted her eyes at her, "You'd be surprised, Lena."

"I bet." Val said then proceeded to eat to avoid her mother's hard stare. After dinner she nearly sprinted up to her room so she could finish looking through the box, sparking her mother's suspicions.

As Valencia closed her door, her mother's foot peaked through.

"Not so fast," Rebecca said to her daughter, "What the hell is up with you?" She asked, easily overpowering her daughter.

"Nothing Mom. What are you talking about?" Valencia cooly replied.

Rebecca squinted her eyes at her daughter and walked around her room. She looked in the closet, under her bed, out the window and skimmed her entire room.

Finding nothing, Rebecca shrugged, "I thought I told you to be honest with me? If you want to have a guy over…"

Valencia's eyes widened as she interrupted her mother, "That's not…!"

Rebecca held up her hand to silence her daughter, "You're an adult now, baby. And I understand if-"

Valencia shook her head and sighed, "Mom that's not it." Valencia bit her lip and pulled out the jewelry box.

Rebecca's eyes widened, she looked at the old box with watery eyes as her daughter handed it to her. She traced the carvings on the top and her lip quivered. Her watery eyes looked at her daughter, "You didn't open it did you?" She asked as her green eyes searched her daughters.

Valencia mutely nodded and she smiled at her Mom.

A tear ran down Rebecca's face as she dropped the box and hugged her daughter. Rebecca nuzzled her face in to her daughter's curly black hair and sobbed. "I'm so sorry you had to find out this way!"

Valencia stood in her mother's arms confused. She didn't understand why her mother was crying. Had Fury died?

Val awkwardly patted her mother on her back to soothe her, "Mom it's okay." She whispered, trying to calm her mother down.

"No it's not, baby! I should have told you about your father when you were young!" Her mother croaked out.

Valencia's brows furrowed, "What does Dad have to do with Fury?" She questioned.

Rebecca froze.

Valencia let go of her mother and took a step back, "Mom?"

Rebecca bit her lip and looked away from her daughter.

"Mom!" Valencia said louder, "What does Fury have to do with my father?"

Rebecca shushed her daughter, "Don't raise your voice at me! Remember who you're talking to." She chided.

Valencia scowled, "This isn't the time to be chastising me, Mother." She said icily. "Now answer my question!"

Rebecca's nostrils flared, "It doesn't matter. Why were you going through my things?"

"That doesn't matter! Mother who the hell is Fury?" She yelled at her mother.

"He's your father!" Rebecca muttered.

Everything in the house was silent, as moments passed by between the two. Daniel didn't dare to come in to the room with the two women. Valencia glared at her mother with tears in her eyes, to in shock to say anything. Rebecca looked at her only child with sad eyes, she was hurting for her baby.

"Get out." Valencia whispered, clutching herself.

"Baby I-" "GET OUT!"

Rebecca turned on her heel and closed her daughter's door, knowing she need to be alone. She ran to her own room and fell into Daniel's arms.

Tears streamed down Valencia's face. She picked up the box and opened it, sitting against her bed on the floor. She sniffled as she looked at the polaroids of her two parents. Her real parents.

Fury was her father. And no one felt the need to tell her. Would she have ever found out?

Valencia picked up a final unmailed letter in her mother's handwriting.

"My dearest Nicholas,

I am so sorry that I cannot tell you this in person, but I am carrying your child. I cannot kill it, for he or she is the personification of our time together. I am so sorry. If they find out about our baby, they could kill both of us, and our child. I have to disappear. I don't know if you'll ever receive this letter but if you do I want to finally say the words to you that we forbid ourselves to say, I love you.

Your's Forever,

Birdie"

Valencia sobbed and clutched the letter to her chest. Her real father didn't even know she existed. She climbed in her bed with a polaroid of her father and listened to the music box softly play. Her eyes began to get heavy but before she fell asleep she decided one thing: She need answers.

Valencia woke up with crusty eyes and tear stained cheeks. The melody of the music box was floating through her bedroom, reminding her of what had happened the previous night. She reached over to her nightstand and closed the box, then groggily stood up. She stretched her hands up above her head and yawned, checking the time. Her eyes widened when she saw she was late for school.

"I don't think they care if you miss a day the last week of school, Lena." Valencia looked behind her.

"Hi Mom." She mumbled sitting on her bed. Her mother rushed to her and sat next to her on the bed, rubbing her back.

"I'm so sorry baby." Rebecca said to her daughter, kissing her on her temple.

Valencia sighed, "I just have so many questions."

Rebecca sighed, "Let me tell you a story first."

Valencia look up from her mother's shoulder.

Rebecca chewed on her lip before continuing. "I told you how I grew up in an orphanage right?" Valencia nodded, "Well that was true. But I didn't tell you that when I was thirteen, I became was drafted into an espionage organization where I was trained for three years to become a spy. At sixteen I was finally sent on my first mission. Emotionless, quick, swift, no ties, I was the perfect agent. They called me Blackbird. Everything was going well for me. But the year I turned twenty five, I was sent on a mission." Rebecca paused and licked her lips.

"It was supposed to be a simple assassination of an agent at a rival organization. So that night I planned to seduce him and kill him. A mission I had done multiple times before. I put on this white dress, with a slit up the leg, it fit me like a glove." She smirked, "I found my guy and asked him to dance, but little did I know that he was on a mission to kill me too. We got to a hotel room and it was on. We fought for an hour, and it left us bloody. Somehow we went from fighting to- well you know."

Valencia shook her head at her mother's smirk.

"Well anyway one thing turned to another and we were fucking on a daily bases."

Valencia groaned, "Mom!"

Rebecca laughed, "Sorry, sorry. But our affair soon turned into something more and we feel in love. If we had been found out, we surely would have been killed. But we didn't care. We carried on the affair for three years, writing letters back and forth."

"I read some of your letters Mom, he seemed to be really sweet."

Rebecca smiled softly at her daughter, "Nicholas was very sweet. At every anniversary of our meeting, he would send black roses to me. But then," Rebecca frowned, "I got pregnant with you and I knew I couldn't continue to be a spy and have you. They would have killed both of us. So I disappeared. I changed my name and moved here. I went to real estate school, got a normal job, and I met Daniel."

"Did he know?" Val questioned.

"He know's that you aren't his," Rebecca clarified, "but he doesn't know about my espionage past...Please don't tell him. Knowing could put him in danger."

"But what about me?" Valencia muttered, confused.

Rebecca rolled her eyes. "Valencia you're not that slow are you?"

Valencia stared at her mother confused.

Rebecca sighed, "I have been training you since you were a child. Remember all those little lessons I would give you?"

Valencia furrowed her brows, "Hear, see, strike? I thought that was just for strangers."

She nodded, "That was incase my old organization tried to get to you. At this point you're a fully trained agent. Minus the assassin part. I can't believe you didn't notice this, how many kids do you know knows how to dismantle a gun in fifteen seconds?" Rebecca inquired.

Valencia just shrugged, "I thought it was to build character."

"What about me personally teaching you hand to hand combat?"

Valencia again shrugged, "Again, I thought it was for strangers."

"Valencia you can take down a down a man with you legs wrapped around his neck and your hands tied behind your back and you thought I taught you that for regular strangers on the street?" Rebecca pointedly stared at her. "Jesus Christ, and you have a 4.0?"

"4.5." Valencia corrected and her mother just rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, I told you all of this to say: Don't go looking for your father."

Valencia bit her lip, "Why?"

"It would put all of us in danger. If my ex-agency found out I was alive and that I had a daughter with the famous Nick Fury, they'd send someone to hunt us down. Promise me." Rebecca stared hard into her daughter's eyes.

Valencia stayed quiet and her mother's eyes glared at her, "Valencia Renee, promise me."

Val sighed, "Okay, I promise."


	2. The Coffee Shop

Valencia bit her lip in concentration as she listened to her professor's lecture and took notes. She was in a lecture hall, sitting in the closest row to the bottom, next to a boy that she sat by every Tuesday, whom she had yet to learn the name of. She did not socialize with the other students at her university much, she was just there to get her business degree and go home. She didn't have time for distractions, she wanted to graduate early after all.

Howard University had been good for Valencia. She had gotten a 4.0 her first two years at the school. She had a little apartment right off campus and took the metro downtown when she wanted to sight see. She loved being independent, in the social sense, because she always felt smothered at home. Her mother kept a tight leash on her at home, now Valencia knew the reason why. But even with the impending danger that her mother reiterated to her every phone call, Valencia felt safe and at home. She could tell you what metro line to get on to get where and she knew all the hot coffee shops and libraries to study, or to just people watch at. She hadn't even contacted her father yet…

Speaking of which, she learned that he worked there in D.C. at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. But she did not feel the least bit tempted to go to his building. Nope, not at all.

"Alright class, papers are due the next time we meet. You're free to leave." The short man at the front of the class clapped his hands and dismissed his students.

Valencia gathered her things and placed them in her messenger bag, putting her black pen behind her ear. She got up from her seat and walked out the lecture hall, and started making her way to her scooter, she had purchased a vespa-like bike to get around D.C. on. She secured her helmet on her head and revved the engine and rode to her apartment.

Reaching her building, she got off her scooter and parked it behind the building. She put in her code and walked into the apartment building. She went to her mailbox and unlocked it, quickly getting her mail. She said a quick hello to the man at the front desk, then walked up the steps to her home.

She unlocked the door and stepped in, dropping her bag by the door, before turning around and double bolting her door.

Valencia had a simple studio apartment. Her mother wanted her to get a more upscale place, but Valencia had always wanted a studio apartment. It was 'rustic', she thought. She had a little kitchen area against the same all as her front door, with black and white tile and peeling white wallpaper. The 'kitchen' had a stove, a refrigerator, a microwave, barely any counter space and one cabinet. Ending the kitchen was a bar with enough room for two seats, where Valencia ate. Opposite of the kitchen, next to the front door, was her living area, which consisted of a sapphire blue sofa and a matching love seat with a leopard print blanket draped over it. A television was hanging from the wall, with wires coming from below it and plugging into a DVD player. Completing the space was a white glass top coffee table, complete with papers that Valencia had typed out and notes from forgotten lectures. And in the far right corner of her apartment was a sheer cloth hanging from the ceiling forming a closed of area, was her 'bedroom'. Her double bed was behind the hanging cloth, fitted with a white bedspread from ikea, and grey sheets. Her bedframe was a simple white, and she had a closet next to her bed with her clothes and shoes inside, and a stand up mirror facing her bed. Completing her apartment was a small bathroom with a toilet, sink, and shower. It was small but Valencia made the place her own with different pictures hanging from the wall.

Valencia grabbed an apple from her fridge and sat on her couch with one leg folded underneath her. She flipped on the television to a random station and watched. Thirty minutes passed by and Valencia checked the time, seeing that it was only two in the afternoon, she decided to head down to her favorite coffee place to people watch, er, to study. She grabbed her messenger bag and arrived at the cafe by two thirty.

Valencia parked her bike in front of the cafe and feed the parking meter. She walked into the shop, going to the counter to order a cream cheese bagel and some hot chocolate. She sent a quick smile to the barista, as she was getting her order. She sat down in her usual spot in the front window, taking out her notes from the days classes and going over them with a highlighter, occasionally watching people past the shop.

Valencia heard the bell on the door of the shop ring and she looked up. Her eyes widened as she saw who was at the cafe.

It was Captain America. He had on civilian clothes, a neat tucked in white shirt, and tan trousers pulled up to his navel, with neat cuffs on the ends. His hair was neatly cut in an old fashioned style, and his face was clean of any stubble. Valencia would described his style as, well, neat.

"Holy crap you're Captain America!" The barista exclaimed. The super soldier chuckled uneasily and rubbed the back of his neck.

He then ordered a fritter? No, it was a cannoli!

'Never thought I'd see Captain America ordering a cannoli', Valencia chuckled lowly in her head.

As the super soldier turned around, Valencia's eyes quickly darted from him and to her notes, furiously highlighting a random passage. When Valencia felt it was safe to look up, America's favorite superhero, was sitting at table across from hers, glancing out the window.

Valencia bit her lip and kept her eyes on her notes. For the next hour and a half, she kept sneaking glances at the man. Finally deciding that she didn't have the confidence to go up to the hero, Valencia stopped her staring. Seeing that her hot chocolate was nearly empty she got up from her spot at the window and walked to the counter.

"Hey, can I get another hot chocolate?"

The green eyed barista sent her a friendly smile, "Sure thing."

Valencia smiled back at the young man as he took her cup. He was slightly taller than her five foot frame, had brown mousy hair, and braces. She leaned against the counter as she refilled her beverage. The boy came back with her drink and Valencia reached in her pocket to pay.

"Don't worry about it. It's on the house." The barista said, and smiled slyly at the short haired girl.

Valencia blinked in surprise and took the drink from the boy, "Um thanks." She looked at his name tag, "Alex?"

The boys grin widened at the sound of his name. He nodded to her, "And you are?"

"Val." She said bashfully, still surprised that this boy would give her a drink free, usually that meant he wanted something in return.

"Val, that's pretty."

Valencia thanked him and turned around to walk away. "Uh, I see you come in here a lot, Val. What school do you go to?"

Valencia turned back around, now bothered by this boy's inquiries, "Howard." She said shortly.

The boy's green eyes widened, "You're in college?" He blurted out in surprise.

Valencia looked at him strangely and nodded.

"You don't look like you're in college! How old are you?" The prepubescent questioned.

Valencia rolled her eyes, "Too old for you. Thanks for the drink." She said and walked back to her seat.

She mumbled to herself about the audacity of the boy before she felt eyes on her. Valencia looked up and saw the captain's blue eyes watching her with a small grin.

Valencia quickly shut her mouth and buried her head in her notes again, now embarrassed. She had forgotten all about him being in the cafe with her. She tucked a strand of her dark brown bobbed hair behind her ear. She licked her lips and started putting her papers in her bag. Once she was finished, she walked to the counter and put the exact change on the counter for her drink, walked past the buff blonde hero and to her bike.

She put on her helmet, taking and revved her engine, taking a quick look back at the cafe, to see blue eyes staring at her.


	3. Smiling

**(A/N: Thank you for reading this and reviewing. I appreciate it a lot and it helps me write.)**

Valencia rolled out of her bed at a time that was way too early for a Saturday. She yawned and rubbed her brown eyes as she left her 'bedroom' and walked into her 'kitchen'. She got on her tiptoes to reach the cereal that was situated in her only cabinet then she scratched her exposed stomach and grabbed a bowl that she had washed last night. She poured her cereal, then poured milk into her bowl. Putting everything back in their place, she grabbed a spoon and plopped down on her sofa. She shoved a spoonful of cereal in her mouth and clicked on her television, settling for cartoons.

She finished her cereal and put her bowl in the sink, looking out her kitchen window and seeing how bright and sunny it was.

'I should go to the park today.' She thought to herself. 'That's a good way to spend a Saturday.'

She trotted to her bathroom to take a look at the damage that a good nights rest had done to her face. The dark brunette clicked on the light in her small, enclosed bathroom. Looking at herself in the mirror, she saw she had eye crusts and a trail of dried drool going down her chin. She quickly grabbed her facial scrub and clarisonic then got to work on her face. After she was satisfied with how soft and clean her skin was, she grabbed a bottle of peroxide and gargled with it, a little trick her mother taught her to whiten her teeth, and began to brush her teeth. After five minutes of her daily dental hygiene routine, she was finished.

She clicked the bathroom light off and walked behind her sheet separating her 'bedroom' from the rest of her apartment. She opened her closet doors and grabbed a pair of shorts and a plain, snug white tshirt with three quarter sleeves and a pocket over the left breast. She put on her outfit for the day and grabbed a pair of white socks and some low top red, white, and blue converse sneakers.

Looking at herself in her full length mirror, she quickly took of her night scarf and shook her hair free. Grabbing a comb, she ran it threw her short brown tresses. She fixed her side bang just the way she liked it and fluffed her neck length bob to give it volume. To finish her look she tucked both sides of her hair behind her ears, then pulled out two identical strands to be out in front of her ears, giving her a girly appearance.

Valencia grabbed a book to read and a small blanket then threw them in to her beige messenger bag. She grabbed her keys and walked out her front door then she locked her door. Trotting down the stairs, she decided that since it was so pretty outside, she would walk to the park. She put in her headphones and mindlessly listened to music as she walked.

The twenty year old made sure to take in her surroundings as she walked, occasionally saying a polite 'excuse me' when she bumped into people. A lot of people were out today, seeing as it was a sunny Saturday and this was the number one tourist spot in America. Though the novelty of it all wore off for Valencia very quickly. Now it was like this was her home, and natives hate dealing with tourists.

She finally made her way to the National Mall, before picking a spot in the grass to sit and read. Valencia took out her blanket and laid it down before laying down on her stomach and reading her book. After thirty minutes of reading, the brunette put her book down and started to people watch. She watched the people who came with their families, the business man walking around in suits and the people who were jogging in the park.

One particular jogger seemed to be going faster than the others.

Valencia watched in amusement as one of the joggers kept passing another one.

"On you left!" The man would say and Valencia would snicker. Once she turned her attention back to her book, a handsome man stopped to take a breath right next to her. He was hunched over and breathing heavily.

Valencia looked up from her book curiously, when she saw the man was trying to say something to her. She took out an earphone, "Huh?"

"I said, it's a nice day isn't it?" The mahogany skinned man with warm brown eyes said to her with a smirk.

Valencia raised an eyebrow before nodding, "Yeah it is."

Silence passed between the two as the man tried to catch his breath. Valencia reached in her bag and handed him her water. The man took it graciously and gulped it down.

"Thanks. I'm Sam by the way." He said after he had nearly drank half of her water.

"Valencia," The brunette laughed as he tried to give her water back to her, "And you can have it."

Sam grinned at her, "You sure? I wouldn't want a pretty lady such as yourself to get dehydrated." He smoothly said.

Valencia snorted unattractively at his compliment, "You seem to need it more than me. It's not like I'm the one trying exercise in this hot sun."

Sam chuckled at the dark haired woman, "You're right it's too hot to be jogging. Mind if I sit with you?"

Valencia looked up once again from her book and put a hand over her eyes to block the sun, looking up at Sam. She gave him a once over and sighed, "Sure why not." She decided, moving over and making room for him on her blanket.

He grinned at her and sat down next to the brunette. Valencia looked at him warily, "You smile an awful lot don't ya?" She questioned and got a smile in reply.

"What's wrong with that?" He inquired.

Valencia shrugged, before turning back to her book. "Nothing." She muttered putting her earphone back in her ear. The two sat in silence for a few moments, Valencia reading and Sam just watching the people as they walked by.

After a few minutes, Valencia was taken away from her book when Sam took on of her earphones out and put it in his ear.

"Marvin Gaye? Whatchu know about Marvin Gaye, girl?" He asked jokingly.

Valencia snorted, "I know I'mma beat you if you ever take my earphone out again."

Sam's eyes widened and he threw his hands up in a mock surrender. "Yes ma'am!" He saluted her.

Valencia laughed, "But seriously, my mom loves Marvin Gaye. I was apparently conceived to his music."

"She told you all that, huh?" Sam said chuckling.

"She's very blunt." Valencia simply replied.

"So that's where you get it from?" Sam joked.

Valencia and Sam shared a laugh and kept going back and forth with each other about the music on her ipod.

A blonde man jogged to a stop in front of them, stopping their banter. "You giving up already? I expect more from a servicemen." The man joked.

"Well I saw something a little more appealing than running." Sam smoothly replied.

Valencia rolled her eyes and look up at the man for the first time. Her eyes widened, standing over them was Captain America.

"Steve Rogers." The muscled man held his hand out to Valencia with a friendly smile.

She slid her bronze hand in to his, "Valencia Smith."

Sam looked between the two and their joined hands. "Hey," He called out jokingly, "Why did he get the last name?"

Steve released Valencia's hand from his as she smartly replied, "Because I like him more than you."

Steve let out a laugh as Sam pouted, "It's like that Val?"

She nodded smirking at him, "It's just like that Sam."

"Well damn then! I better get to running so I can be buff like Cap. Will I have a chance then Val?"

She pretended to think about it before saying, "Maybe Sammy, you better get to work though!"

Sam jumped up from the blanket, which made Valencia snort, and started running down the path.

"Is he always this obnoxious?" Valencia asked Steve.

He gave her a crinkly eyed smile, "Only around pretty girls."

Valencia looked up at him unimpressed, "Did he tell you to say that? Because he used that one on me already."

Steve shook his head bashfully turning a pretty shade of pink, "I'm sorry ma'am, I didn't mean to offend you."

Valencia shook her head, "It takes a lot more than that to offend me, Captain."

At the sound of her saying his hero name Steve's eyes shined. As they finished their little exchange, Sam came running around to them.

He huffed and Valencia handed him her water bottle once again. He took it and fell over on to her blanket with his head in her lap.

"Do you love me now?" He joked and Valencia laughed, "Get up Romeo, I don't want your sweat on my legs."

Sam raised his head from her lap and wiggled his eyebrows, "Maybe that's exactly what I want, Val."

Valencia pushed the black man over on the grass and let out a snort. "You're going to have to teach him some manners." She said to Steve.

Steve shook his head, "There's no helping him."

Sam frowned, "That's not nice to say to your future husband, Val."

Valencia barked out a laugh, "Oh shut up Sam!"

"Sam I think it's time we leave Valencia to her book." Steve said helping his friend up.

Sam nodded, "I do need to get back to running." He playfully bowed to Valencia, "It was nice meeting you, Val. Maybe next time it could just be the two of us, some drinks and those shorts you have on." He smirked as he stood up straight.

Valencia rolled her eyes, "Bye Sam."

Sam pouted at her but began to start running again, leaving her and Steve.

"Nice meeting you, ma'am." Steve nodded to her and took off.

Valencia shook her head with a little laugh and put her earphones back in, getting back to her book.

What are the chances of seeing Captain America twice in one week? She should go and play the lottery.

Thirty minutes passed and Sam passed her one last time. Valencia took her earphones out and looked at him expectantly.

"Yes?" She asked.

Sam dug his hands in to his sweatpants, scuffing at the sidewalk with his sneakers, "Well Miss Valencia I was hoping I could get your number? You know for safety reasons."

Valencia snorted, "Safety reasons?" She questioned.

Sam grinned, "Yeah, maybe you need someone to fix your air conditioning or wash your dishes for you."

Valencia giggled, "How is that-," She cut herself off and shook her head. "I'm only going to say it once, get ready." Valencia said as Sam fumbled with his phone. She quickly said her number and he added it to his contacts.

"Smile." He said snapping a picture of Valencia crossing her eyes and sticking her tongue out at him. "Wow that's totally a sight a man wants to wake up to in the morning."

Valencia smiled at his remark. "Now who smiles all the time?" He winked at her, running away. Valencia just grinned down at her book.

Valencia had made her way back home after staying the park all day. She smelt like outside and she desperately need to take a shower. She stripped out of her clothes and walked into her bathroom and turned the water on to shower. She put on a shower cap and go into the shower. She scrubbed herself until she smelled like cocoa butter and vanilla rather than grass. She turned the water off and wrapped herself in a fluffy towel. She took off her shower cap and began to brush her teeth. As she finished brushing her teeth she heard her text notification go off. She spit her toothpaste out and rinsed her mouth with water. When she was done she tightened her towel around herself and walked to the living room to check her phone.

'Did I wait long enough to text you so I don't seem so eager? -Sam'

Valencia laughed and saved Sam's number.

'No.' She simply replied before throwing her phone on the couch and going into her closet and finding a pair of panties and an oversized sleep shirt.

Her phone went off again and she plopped on the couch to check it.

'Too bad.'

Valencia snorted and shook her head. Today she had met Captain America and gave a guy, a cute guy, her phone number. What's next she meets her father or something?


	4. Phone Conversations

The smell of freshly baked brownies was wafting through Valencia's apartment as she painted on a fresh coat of polish on her toes. Music was softly playing from her speaker and the sun's rays shined through her windows. It was a lazy Thursday afternoon and she was home, the classes she had were earlier that morning, so she was free.

It had been a very stressful week for her. She had an exam on Monday, a paper due on Tuesday, a lab on Wednesday, and two accelerated classes that morning. Valencia needed to kickback, relax, and unwind, which she was currently doing to the sounds of Nina Simone.

"Why you wanna fly? Blackbird, you ain't never gonna fly." The brown eyed girl sung along with Nina, then blowing on her polished toes.

Valencia got up from her bed and waddled her way to the kitchen, being careful not to mess up her toe nails. She looked in the oven and saw her brownies were ready, so she grabbed two dish towels and got the pan out the oven. She sat the pan on the stove and turned off her oven.

In the living room, Valencia's cell phone started ringing. The brunette hurriedly waddled into the living room and checked her phone. It was her mother.

"Hello mother." Valencia said as she put her feet up to dry on her coffee table.

"Hello daughter. You didn't call me last night, I'm surprised no one killed you." Her mother dramatically exclaimed.

Valencia rolled her eyes, "No I wasn't killed, I just had a lab that took all day yesterday."

"Well whoopdie doo. That doesn't mean you don't call your mother. I worry!"

"Mom I'm fine, I'm just going to school, you know, the thing you forgot to do at my age." Valencia huffed.

Her mother snorted, "Oh to the contrary, I was saving the world at your age..."

"What exactly were you saving when you slept with that communist Cuban dignitary?"

"Valencia he was Russian! And I only slept with him to get information!"

Valencia snorted, "You said you had the wrong guy!"

"Oh shut up Valencia! You know that man could've been your father…" Her mother trailed off, laughing.

Valencia frowned, "That's not funny mother."

Her mom just laughed harder at her response. "It's very funny Lena!"

Valencia rolled her eyes, "Oh yeah Mom, the fact that you lied to me my whole life about my father is so hilarious."

"Well when you put it that way it makes me sound like a villain." Her mom said guiltily.

Valencia bit her lip before saying, "Well…"

"Valencia Renee!" Her mother exclaimed, making her daughter flinch. "I've told you time and time again I was a twenty seven year old spy pregnant by a forty year old rival spy. What the hell was I supposed to do, throw a fucking baby shower?"

Valencia sighed, "I know Momma," she said knowing it would make her mother melt, "It's just weird to know that I have a father out there in the world that I've never met. You can't be angry at me for wanting to know more about him."

Her mother sighed sadly, "Lena, I understand how you feel. I was an orphan remember? But baby, your life has been next to perfect without him. I think you can survive not knowing him now. As a matter of fact I know you can."

Valencia chewed on her lip, "You're right Mom. I'm sorry."

"It's alright Lena-bird." Her mother cooed into the phone, making Valencia smile at her childhood nickname.

"So," Valencia quickly changed the subject, "How's Daniel?"

Her mother sighed, "Being the love of my life like he always is. He misses you a lot Valencia, you really should call him."

Valencia flinched at her mother's words, "Everything's different now, Momma. I can't pretend to be his daughter anymore."

"Valencia he may not be your biological father, but he raised you." Her mother said sternly, then sighed, "Just call him sometimes, you owe him that much."

"I technically don't owe him anything." Valencia clarified. "But I will give him a call."

"Thank you, Lena. I have to go, Ron's on my case about this damn foreclosure."

Valencia laughed, "Okay Mom. Tell Ron I said hello."

Her mom snorted, "He'll ruin his slacks if I tell him my beautiful twin of a daughter acknowledged his existence." She laughed and added, "I can't wait. Bye baby."

"Bye Momma." Valencia hung up the phone.

By now her toes were dry and her brownies were cooled, so she walked into the kitchen to taste one of her chocolatey creations. She cut up her brownies and grabbed one, chewing on it on her way to her 'bedroom'. She pulled her sheet back and stepped inside her 'bedroom', popping the rest of her brownie in her mouth. She then opened her closet doors and reached in the back of her closet, pulling out her music box. She closed her closet doors and sat on her bed.

Valencia opened her music box and the familiar song began to play.

"Alas my love, you do me wrong, to cast me off discourteously." The dark brunette sung along with her box's music as she looked through the contents in the box for the umpteenth time. She pulled out the polaroid picture of her mom and her dad. She gazed at it for a couple minutes, trying to find any possible resemblance between herself and her father.

"Daddy where are you?" Valencia's voice cracked as her eyes started to water. She threw down the picture and looked away from her mother's letters. She began to cry as 'Greensleeves' was still playing in the background.

After an hour of self-loathing and sadness, Valencia gathered all of the contents of her music box and put them back, then she put the box back into her hiding place. After closing her closet doors she walked into her living room, absentmindedly turning on her television.

She stared at her tv, not really paying attention to what was on, her mind still focused on her father. She bit her lip in thought, then grabbed her laptop from her coffee table. She turned it on and went straight to google.

"Shield Nicholas Fury." She typed in. She got limited results. So she typed in, "Shield Headquarters Washington, D.C." from that she got an address. She quickly grabbed a notepad and wrote the address down.

It wasn't like she was going to go or anything, Valencia would never do that to her mother…she just needed to know she could if she wanted to.

Well that thought made Valencia feel guilty. Which made her close her laptop and pick up her phone. She dialled Daniel's work number.

"Hi kiddo!" He answered on the first two rings, "Long time no talk!"

Valencia laughed uneasily, "Hey, uh, Daniel. How have you been?"

"I've been great! How's school? You haven't been fighting any aliens have you?" Daniel joked, his mood unwavered by Valencia's tone.

Valencia chuckled, for real this time, and said, "No, Daniel, just exams."

"Aww that's great, kiddo! Your mother told me you got all A's last semester and I think that's really tops!"

"Tops? Dad, no one's said tops in, at least, forty years!" Valencia joked, not realizing her mistake.

"Well I just said it, kid! So does that mean it's forty years ago?" Daniel asked, laughter in his voice.

Valencia rolled her eyes, "No…"

"Okay then! I guess you're wrong! When are you going to visit home, we miss ya out here!"

Valencia bit her lip, "Soon. I promise."

"I'll hold you too that kiddo! I've got to go now, but call me back another time! I miss talking to my princess."

Valencia softly smiled, "I will Dad," that one was intentional, "Talk to you soon."

"Alright, Valley girl. Bye."

"Bye."

Well that made her feel a little better….and a little worse. How could she have forgotten how great a dad Daniel was? Sure they weren't blood but he made sure she had everything she ever wanted.

Except her biological father.

At eleven o'clock Friday morning, Valencia Smith was in her US History class chewing on her pen and listening to her professor ramble.

"Now class, I'm going to assign you a project-" The professor was interrupted by groans. "Come now, you're all adults. I want you all to do a project on an American staple. Be it apple pie or hot dogs or barbeques. Write an article, paper, or even an make a video on the subject, what it represents, and what makes it American. Include pictures if you are writing. Due next time we met. You're dismissed."

Valencia put her pen behind her ear and gathered her things. She stuffed her things in her messenger bag and began to walk to her bike. When she reached where she parked, her phone started to ring.

"Hello?" Valencia answered.

"How ya doin' Val?" Sam greeted her.

"Sam! Hey! I'm doing well, how about you?"

"I'm better now that I'm talking to a beautiful woman such as yourself."

Valencia sucked her teeth, "Calm down Casanova. What do you want?"

Sam laughed, "I was calling to see if you would meet me for coffee in an hour."

Valencia bit her lip, "Sam I actually just got this big assignment…"

He groaned, "Come on Val, you're breaking my heart!"

"Look not today. Can it wait 'till tomorrow?"

"Anything for you, Val. Is ten okay?"

"That's perfect. I'll text you the place later."

"Alright Val."

Valencia smiled, "Alright Sam." She put her phone away and climbed on her bike, heading home.

On the ride home, Valencia was trying to think of subjects for her project. She wanted to do something different, but she couldn't think of anything. Maybe if she went to a museum she could get some ideas. Valencia took a u-turn on her bike and headed to the Smithsonian American History museum.

Valencia arrived at the museum ten minutes later. She parked her bike and put her helmet away. She grabbed her messenger bag and walked into the museum. The brunette walked up to the front desk, grabbing pamphlet.

"What exhibits do you have open today?" She questioned one of the front desk attendants.

"Well, we have a really popular exhibit on Captain America." The attendant informed her.

Valencia chuckled a little, "And where is that located?"

"Second floor, to the right. Enjoy."

Valencia thanked the attendant and followed her instructions, heading to the second floor. She took the right she was instructed to take and found the exhibit. It was a dimly lit display that took up half of the second floor. It was crowded, kids on field trips and parents everywhere. At the start of the exhibit, to the left, was a black wall with white writing that said in bold 'Welcome Back, Cap.' The exhibit opened with a mantle that had a caricature of Captain America.

Valencia paused and took a picture of the mantle with her cell phone.

'CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE LIVING LEGEND AND SYMBOL OF COURAGE'

'What a way to hype a guy up.' Valencia thought. She walked into the exhibit and saw a mural painted on the wall of him in uniform.

"A symbol to the nation, a hero to the world. The story of Captain America is one of honor, bravery and sacrifice." The sound of a voiceover resonated through the room. Valencia watch as a little boy saluted the mural and took a quick picture of the boy.

She walked up to a picture on the wall of Captain America pre-serum. "He was only 95 pounds," She muttered to herself, "But at 5'4 he was still an inch taller than me." She snapped a picture. The brunette then looked at Captain America after the serum. "6'2 and 240 pounds? That sounds familiar." She jokingly murmured and snapped a picture. Next to the pre and post serum pictures there was a graphic that showed the difference in the two. He had nearly doubled, like he had gained another person.

Standing next to the graphic was a little boy, staring in awe at something. Valencia looked at the boy with furrowed brows and turned in the direction he was staring. Standing across from them with a silencing finger to his mouth was Captain America himself.


	5. Museums & Ice Cream

**(A/N: Thank you for reading, please tell me how you like it so far, and if the relationships are flowing. Also, Arya(Guest) I'm writing a chapter just for what you mentioned, so stay tuned for that :))**

Valencia was standing in front of Captain America who was standing in front of a huge picture of Captain America in the Captain America exhibit in the Smithsonian. Though the Captain America standing before her looked more like Steve Rogers at the moment, with his blue baseball cap, blue jacket, white shirt and jeans. He was in disguise, well, it was more like he was hiding in plain sight. If she hadn't known what to do her project on before, now she was certain.

"Coming to your own Smithsonian exhibit is a bit narcissistic don't ya think?" Valencia smirked up at the tall, blushing, superhero.

"Nothing get's passed you." He joked, with his cheeks tinted pink, "Valencia, isn't it?"

Valencia grinned and nodded, "I'm surprised you remember, you must meet a lot of people."

Steve chuckled, "Well you're kind of hard to forget." Valencia raised her eyebrows at the what the blue-eyed hero statement just suggested . "Uh, I mean, because of Sam." He clarified, clearing his throat.

Valencia snorted, "Don't hurt yourself there, gramps. What are you doing here anyway?"

"I wanted to see what they said about me." Steve answered, shrugging, "What are you doing here?"

Valencia mirrored his shrug, "I needed inspiration for an assignment. And your exhibit happened to be open. But since you're here...You want to be my tour guide?" She joked.

Steve laughed, "Sure." He agreed and the two proceeded to walk through the showcase together.

They walked to a motorcycle that was on a pedestal and a video of Captain America running through an army base.

"This was my old bike." Steve explained to Valencia. She nodded and took a picture, "You seem like the type to ride a motorcycle."

"Well cars weren't exactly what they are today." Steve quipped back.

Valencia laughed, and the two walked forward to the next display. "On the battlefield, Captain America and the howling commandos quickly earned their stripes." A voiceover informed the crowd. The wall had a mural painted on it of the howling commandos and Captain America and in front of each picture was their uniform.

Valencia took a picture and gazed at each of the men in the painting.

"The first mission I was ever on was to save them from a German prison." Valencia looked to Steve, though his attention was on the mural, making her turn her gaze back to the uniforms. "We then formed a task force, and we took down many HYDRA bases."

Valencia glanced back at Steve and saw his eyes were glazed over. "Hey." She softly said, touching his arm, "Are you okay?"

Steve forced a small smile, "I'm fine, let's move on."

The two walked to the next display. It was a huge piece of transparent glass with a the face of one of the howling commandos etched into it and text about the pictured man.

"Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steven Rogers were inseparable on both schoolyard and battlefield. Barnes is the only howling commando to give his life in service of his country."

Valencia took a picture of the display and read the paragraph on Bucky Barnes. "He was kind of cute…" She muttered to herself, staring at Bucky Barnes' photo. She took another picture of the glass display before turning to the side and walking to Steve. He had ventured off to a video playing on the side of the display. Valencia leaned over to look at the video Steve was watching. It showed him and Bucky Barnes standing next to each other, smiling and laughing.

Valencia smiled at the video and looked at Steve, her smile falling once she saw his eyes. The sadness that she saw hurt her to her core, and the look on his face wasn't any better. Valencia put her hand on his back, and slowly stroked it, trying to calm the blonde hero down. He looked down at her and tried to smile, but it didn't quite make it, so Valencia slightly smiled up at him instead. No words passed between the two, but they still understood what the other was trying to say. Valencia grabbed Steve's hand and led him to another part of the exhibit, where a video of a women was playing. The two sat down next to a woman and her daughter to watch the video.

"That was a difficult winter," The woman, Peggy Carter, said in an accent, "a blizzard had trapped half of our battalion behind German lines. Steve-eh- Captain Rogers…" Valencia smirked when the woman faltered.

'They must have had a thing.' She thought to herself, silently snickering.

"He saved over a thousand men. Even the man that would become my husband, as it turned out. Even when he died Steve was still saving my life." The woman finished and Valencia raised her eyebrows at Steve, but he was distracted. Valencia looked down and saw Steve was looking at a compass, which had a picture of Peggy Carter in it, though she was much younger than she was in the video.

"Was she your girlfriend?" Valencia questioned, "Were you going, uh what did ya'll used to say, steady?"

Steve let out a sad chuckle, "That was the 50's. And no we didn't really get a chance to…" He trailed off.

Valencia nodded in understanding. "Well look," she checked her watch, "This is the last thing in this exhibit and-"

"Oh I'm sorry. Am I keeping you?" Steve interrupted her.

Valencia furiously shook her head in response. "No! That's not what I meant. It's just...well this whole thing," She gestured to the exhibit, "Has got you kind of down, so do you want to come over to my place? I made brownies yesterday morning, so there's a brownie with a scoop of ice cream with your name on it!"

Steve thought for a moment, which was a beat to long for Valencia.

"Nevermi-" She started to say.

"Sure." He agreed before she could retract her invitation.

Valencia gaped at the hero before she composed herself, "Uh, really? I mean you don't have to."

Steve shook his head and smiled at her, "It's fine, Valencia. Really."

She smiled brightly back at him, "Great! I took my scooter here so you can just follow me to my place."

"Sounds good." Steve agreed and the two made their way to the parking lot.

"Now it's a little small…" Valencia warned Steve as they climbed the steps to her apartment. The two of them had practically raced each to other to Valencia's apartment building, Steve let her 'win' of course but that's only because she knew the way.

"I'm sure it's fine, Valencia." Steve assured the nervous short brunette.

Valencia sighed, she had never felt the need to defend her humble abode to anyone else, but for some reason she was doing it for Steve. "Okay don't say I didn't warn you." She muttered unlocking her door and letting Steve go in first.

"This is it? You made me think all of your furniture was minature." He joked.

Valencia locked the door behind them and rolled her eyes, "Oh please, for a giant like you, everything's miniature!"

He shook his head and smirked at her, "I thought I came here for ice cream and not insults." He said while taking a seat at her kitchen island/bar.

"Oh don't worry," Valencia said, getting the ice cream out the freezer, "You'll get both." She then took out a bowl from her only cabinet and put a brownie in it, then she put the bowl in the microwave.

Steve watched Valencia as she fixed his frozen treat. Smiling softly at the fact that a woman, a pretty woman was making him food, in her small studio apartment that smelt like her. He, discreetly, gave her a once over as she stood on the tips of her toes to get something from her cabinet, her shirt slightly riding up and displaying the dimples at the small of her back. The woman that was the currently the center of his attention was short, shorter than he was pre-serum, but she was filled out. Steve blushed at the thought, but it was true. Valencia had short but shapely legs that led to thick thighs, shapely hips and a round bottom. Her waist seemed to go inward, giving her, what Bucky used to call, a coke bottle shape. And her skin, oh how could he forget her-

"Steve?" His attention snapped to her brown eyes, that now held amusement in them.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" He's face was now tinted pink with embarrassment.

Valencia snorted, which Steve thought was the cutest sound he had ever heard (It reminded him of a piglet), "I said did you want chocolate on your ice cream? Geez is your hearing is going already?" She joked.

Steve let out a laugh, "Yes I would like chocolate and no my hearing is not going."

Valencia smirked at him and handed him his bowl of ice cream. "So you were just distracted then?" She hid her smile by stuffing a spoon of her own ice cream in her mouth.

Steve choked but quickly recovered and said, "So what brought you to D.C? Are you from here?"

"Nice cover," She smiled, "But no, I'm not from here. I'm actually from Alexandria, Virginia. But I moved here for school. What about you? I saw in the exhibit that you were from Brooklyn." She said as she ate another spoonful of ice cream.

Steve nodded, "I moved here for work. But yeah I am from Brooklyn, though it isn't exactly affordable anymore…" He trailed off and it was quite in the apartment again.

"You know," Valencia said after a beat, "I've seen you before. In person, I mean."

Steve raised his eyebrows, "Where? I think I would've remember'd you."

Valencia grinned at his remark, "It was at the coffee shop. On 28th and Lennox? I was sitting in the window and you walked in and ordered a cannoli. And I couldn't believe Captain America would eat a freakin' cannoli." Valencia snorted, making Steve laugh.

"I think I remember. That kid at the counter hit on you, right?" Steve recalled, making Valencia laugh even harder.

"Yes! That dweeb thought I was in high school!" Valencia exclaimed. "I just looked and looked at you, stealing glances like a kid. But I was too shy to go up to you." Valencia recounted, looking down and biting her lip.

Steve watched her with a small smile. "Why were you so afraid of me?" He asked.

Valencia looked up and met Steve's eyes, "I don't really know…" She trailed off, then added, "But I'm not scared anymore."

The two just stared at each other for the second time that day, not saying a word. They didn't need to say anything, really. They could see it in each other's eyes.

"You know," Steve said after a moment, "I was watching you too that day." Steve smiled softly at her, "But I was too afraid to talk to you."

"Why were you so afraid of me?" She mimicked his earlier statement, making him laugh.

"I don't know." He paused, "But I'm not anymore."

Valencia bit her lip and Steve's eyes flickered down to her lips and he licked his own.

Her eyes widened at the sight and she cleared her throat, picking up his bowl and placing it in her own, "Um, did you enjoy it?" She asked, as she scrubbed the bowls in the sink. "The ice cream, I mean?"

"It was delicious, Valencia. Thank you."

"You know, you're the only person who calls me that." Valencia said.

"Isn't that your name?" Steve questioned.

"Well yeah but everyone calls me something different." She replied, putting the bowls on the drying rack and drying her hands, "Like my mom calls me Lena, my dad, er, Daniel calls me kiddo, Sam calls me Val, well most people call me Val. But not you. You call me Valencia, the whole shabang." She explained, leaning against her counter.

Steve looked at the brunette confused, "Do you want me to call you Val?"

Valencia shook her head, "No Steve, I like that you call me Valencia. You make it sound fancy."

Steve was still confused but he smiled at her nonetheless. "Valencia it is then."

Valencia smiled back at Steve, "So how do you like my place?"

"I hadn't really gotten a good look."Steve said as he got up from his seat at her bar and began to walk around her apartment, taking in every detail. He walked to her 'bedroom' and peaked behind the curtain that separated it from the rest of the room. "Creative." He said, letting the curtain fall back in place.

"It's for privacy." Valencia joked, causing Steve to chuckle.

He then walked to the only door in the room, staring at it quizzically.

"The bathroom." Valencia uttered.

Steve nodded and proceeded to look over her 'living room' furniture. He took a seat on the sapphire blue couch and motioned for Valencia to join him. The brunette woman padded over to him and took a seat next to the hero.

"So?" She jokingly inquired.

"You were very creative." Steve said simply, earning a strange look from Valencia, "With the lack of space I mean." He quickly added.

Valencia laughed, "My mom wanted me to get a fancy loft but I think this is more 'me'."

Steve nodded as he examined the papers on her coffee table. "'The American Fascination With Nationalism'?" He read the title to one of her papers.

Valencia shrugged, "It was for my Political Science class."

"You got an 'A'. Good job." The blonde hero congratulated her, making the bronze woman snort. He looked through her papers and a picture fell from within them. He picked it up.

"Those are my parents." Valencia explained.

Steve looked at the picture shocked. It was a picture of a person he knew well. The super soldier flipped the picture over and read the writing that confirmed his suspicion.

'Birdie and Fury '87'

"Who are you?" He asked the brunette sitting next to him that, in that moment, had lost all his trust.


	6. Suspicions

Valencia and Steve were in her apartment staring each other down. Steve had seen the polaroid picture of her mother and her father and noticeably changed his demeanor from kind to suspicious.

"What are you talking about?" Valencia exclaimed.

Steve glared at her, "Have you been lying to me this whole time? Was this one of Fury's missions?"

Valencia's eye widened, "Fury? You know him?"

Steve's eyebrows furrowed, "You know I do, Valencia. God, is that even your name?" He exclaimed, and got up from the couch, running a hand through his blonde tresses.

Valencia got up too and glared at him, "Of course it's my name! What are you trying to imply?"

"That you're an agent! Are you taping this right now? What is the objective of this? Who sent you?" He threw question after question at her.

"I'm not a fucking spy Steve! Are you so messed up that you don't know when someone is being genuine?" Valencia shouted at Steve, offended that he would even ask her about her authenticity.

Steve turned away from her and took a deep breath, collecting his thoughts, before turning back to her. "Are you," He said in an even voice, trying not to sound angry, "Are you the daughter of Nick Fury?"

Valencia chewed on her lip and nodded, looking away from the super soldier.

Steve sucked in a breath. "Are you telling me the truth?" Valencia eyes were still not on him. He walked over to her and set his hands on her shoulders. "Look at me." He begged, looking down at her.

Valencia's eye slowly met his, "Yes." She let out weakly.

"Does he know about you?" He inquired and after a long moment Valencia slowly shook her head.

"No." She voiced, breaking away from his hold. She walked to her couch and picked up the polaroid, walking back over to Steve.

"This," She pointed to the woman in the picture, "Is my mother. Rebecca Smith. She was a spy at a rival organization of my father, Nick Fury. They were sent on a mission to kill each other and they fell in love instead, producing me. But my mother knew that she could not keep me and still work for her agency. So she burned herself and disappeared, marrying the man I knew as my father, Daniel, before I was born."

Steve's eyes widened, "Your mother didn't tell you." He realized.

Valencia shook her head, "She never told me. I had to find out on my own two years ago."

Steve took a seat on the couch, dumbfounded by this new information. Valencia went into her closet and got out her music box, coming back to her 'living room' and sitting next to Steve.

"These are all the letters they wrote to each other." She explained, opening the box.

Steve looked through the letters, his eyes skimming over every word. "I'm sorry Valencia." He said, reading one of the letters to himself.

"It's okay." Valencia muttered, "I'm sorry that I called you messed up."

Steve chuckled quietly, "Well it wasn't like you were wrong." He humorlessly said.

"Still," Valencia started, "It's not like I can talk. I've been calling the wrong man daddy for eighteen years."

Steve put down the letter he was reading, "Valencia," He started to say but hesitated.

"What is it, Steve?" The brunette urged the blonde to continue.

"Do you want to meet him?"

Valencia bit her lip, turning her eyes away from Steve.

Did she? If he had asked her that question a few hours ago she would have been all for it. But with the possibility of it being so real, she was kind of scared. There were too many 'What ifs' in this situation. What if he didn't believe her? What if he didn't want her? What if he rejected her? What if her mother was wrong about him being her father? There was only one way to answer all of the questions she had, she had to meet her father.

After a moment of internal debating she answered Steve. "Yes." She finally said, "I want to meet Nick Fury."

The wind blew through Valencia's short brown hair as she held on to Steve's waist. She was on the back of Steve motorcycle on the way to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. She had to keep a tight hold on Steve so her hands wouldn't shake with the nervousness she felt. She had brought along her music box so that she had proof that she was, in fact, telling the truth.

They were now crossing a bridge and a big gray building was ahead of them.

"That's headquarters." Steve shouted over the wind.

"Yipee." Valencia sarcastically shouted back, making Steve chuckle. She felt the laughter vibrating through his whole body, and she laid her cheek against his back.

They arrived at the secure building and Steve parked his motorcycle in front of it, helping Valencia off the bike.

"Can you even park here?" Valencia asked him, recounting the times her scooter got towed.

Steve shrugged, "They make an exception for me."

Valencia snorted, "Well you are America's amply named hero." She quipped, then dropped her jaw in awe at the lobby.

It had a huge emblem with a hawk in the middle of the floor. The ceiling was a pretty clear glass, with a view of the many floors of the building. The floor was a pretty white marble. People in suites were fastly walking around her having very important places to be, well she imagined that they did.

"Director Fury's office." Steve said, once the two of them got in the elevator.

"The female in this elevator does not have clearance to that level, Captain." An electronic voice said.

"Who the hell was that?" Valencia exclaimed looking around the elevator.

"Override." Steve ordered the machine, making the elevator began to ascend. He leaned against the wall of the elevator, his hands on his belt buckle.

Valencia looked behind her, her eyes widening at the view of D.C.

"Wow." She gasped, her eyes scanning the scenery. Steve watched her silently with a small smile on his lips.

The elevator arrived to their floor and Steve let Valencia go out before him. Then he led her to a receptionist office.

"Captain Rogers!" The pretty woman exclaimed, "I didn't know you had an appointment today!"

Valencia squinted her eyes at the woman as Steve answered her.

"I don't ma'am. I was hoping to talk to Director Fury." The captain said sheepishly. "Is he in there?"

The pretty receptionist smiled at Steve, before looking at Valencia. "Mhmm," She cleared her throat, "Who is she?"

"I'm-" Valencia started to say.

"A friend of mine." Steve interrupted her.

"Oh, Captain Rogers, you know how the Director feels about strangers in his office. I'm afraid I can't let you in."

Steve sighed, "I'm sorry." He said grabbing Valencia's hand.

"For wha-" Before the receptionist could finish Steve had walked into the Director's office.

Moments of silence passed before anyone said anything and Valencia was looking everywhere except for at the desk in the corner of the room. She looked at the gray floor tiles that went from one wall of the office to the other. She looked at the black chairs the were lined up, facing the window of the office. The far right wall was nothing but windows and the view was very-

"What the hell is going on Captain?" A deep voice resonated throughout the office. Valencia kept her head down and hugged her box to herself.

"Now hold on, Fury." Steve started to say, walking in front of the Director's desk. "I think I have something that might interest you." The blonde hero turned to Valencia, motioning for her to stand beside him.

Valencia felt the eyes of both men on her and she bit her lip nervously, before joining Steve in front of the desk.

The director glared at Steve, "What's this abou-" The black man stopped in his tracks when he got a good look at Valencia.

"...Birdie?" The man asked, slowly rising from his desk and looking at Valencia closely. "Look at me, girl." He demanded, making Valencia's eyes quickly meet his.

"My names not Birdie," She stuttered out, "I'm Valencia, Valencia Smith."

Director Fury walked from behind his desk and walked up to Valencia, looking in her eyes. "What's your mother's name?" He asked her lowly.

"Rebecca." Valencia replied.

"Rebecca what?"

"..Smith." She finally said.

Steve stepped back and watched the two interact, ready to intervene if needed.

"Rebecca Smith." Director Fury muttered.

Valencia chewed on her lip nervously and the director watched her with look of recognition on his face.

"You look just like her." He muttered, circling around her.

Valencia stood as still as possible, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I brought your letters." Valencia said holding up her music box for him to see, "That you sent my mom."

Director Fury took the box from her hands and opened it, the tune began to play and the patched man smiled fondly, "Greensleeves." He recalled as he looked through his the letters.

"Why did you come here?" He asked after a moment, leaning against his desk, "Did she send you?"

"No." Valencia shook her head, "She doesn't even know I'm here."

Director Fury nodded. "Did she ever get married?" He questioned.

Valencia nodded and he pursed his lips.

"She must have loved him a lot to have you." Director Fury said after a beat of silence.

Valencia's stomach dropped and she licked her lips. She looked back at Steve and he just nodded to her.

"...He's not my father."

Director Fury's eyes widened, "How old are you?"

"20." The brunette replied.

The director stared at her a few minutes, connecting the dots in his head.

"No." He started to say, "No. I'm sorry but you're mistaken."

"What are you talking about? You're my father!"

Director Fury just shook his head, "You're mistaken." He kept saying.

Tears flowed down Valencia's cheeks, "You are my dad! My mother was in love with you! She didn't-" Valencia started to get choked up, "She wouldn't lie about this!"

Director Fury held Valencia by her shoulders, looking into her eyes, "Look kid, you're mother slept with a lot of men during that time. Who knows who could be your father?"

Valencia stared at him in shock, and before he could blink his one good eye she raised her hand and landed a slap on his face. His hands dropped from her shoulders and he turned away from her, jaw clenched.

"Rogers why did you bring this woman to my office?" Fury said furiously, glaring at the super soldier.

"She's telling the truth, Fury." Steve said, walking over to Valencia and holding her to his chest. "Just give her a chance!"

"Let's do a blood test." Valencia said, her voice, muffled by Steve's shirt. "If I'm not your daughter then I will leave you alone, and you will never hear from me again." She picked her head up from Steve's chest and faced Fury. "But if I am, you will have to accept me."

Director Fury glared at her and asked, "What do you want?"

Valencia gently pushed Steve away and walked up to Fury looking him in his eye, "From you? Nothing. But you will acknowledge me as your child. I am a Fury, rather you like it or not." She said sternly.

Director Fury looked at her for minute, impressed. He saw himself in her and for the first time, he thinks that she might actually be his child.

"Alright then. Let's go to the labs." He simply said, turning on his heel and walking out his office.

Valencia looked at Steve with a confused expression but he just smiled reassuringly at her and led her to the lab.


	7. Fury

(A/N: Thanks for reading, and can ya'll tell me if the relationships are flowing naturally to you? Is it believable? Thanks.)

Valencia nervously chewed on her lip as she, Steve, and Nicholas Fury descended on the elevator to one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s labs. It was silent in the elevator, save for the sound of her foot tapping against the ground. Steve was leaning against the railing to the right of her and Nick Fury was leaning against the rail to her left. She was too distracted to look out the window this time, instead settling her gaze on the floor of the elevator. As they passed floor after floor, Valencia's stomach started to drop. What if she had been wrong? But a worse thought passed through her mind, what if she was right? How could she tell her mother she went against her and found her father? What would Daniel say? What would Daniel think of the daughter he raised rejecting him and finding her birth father?

The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened, and Fury strutted out of the elevator and into the huge science lab the building housed. Steve held the doors opened for Valencia, allowing her to step out, before following her and Fury.

Director Fury led them to a closed off room that had three people in lab coats working in it. As soon as Valencia walked in the room, one of the male lab technicians tried to grab her hand, but Valencia grabbed his instead, and bent it backwards.

"What the hell?" She questioned, glaring at the stranger.

"I need to get a blood sample." The lab technician struggled to say, being that his wrist was in an ironclad hold by Valencia.

"Sorry." The bobbed brunette sheepishly apologized, letting go of the man's wrist.

The technician glared at her and pricked her finger, depositing her blood in a machine. He turned to Fury and did the same. "Give it a few minutes." The technician said, going off to finish what he was working on.

Those few minutes were spent in silence between the three.

"I'm gonna head up stairs." Steve said, backing away from the two, "I'll meet you in the lobby." He nodded toward Valencia, then left the lab.

Valencia's eyes followed Steve until she couldn't see him anymore, biting her lip.

Director Fury watched her with a raised brow, but said nothing.

The lab technician returned to the two with a tablet in his hand. "Well congratulations Director," The lab technician smirked, "It's a girl."

The Director glared, "What are you saying?"

"According to this," He gestured to his tablet, "There is a 99.9% chance that you two are father and daughter. I'll leave you two to it."

Director Fury and Valencia turned to each other.

"I told you." The bobbed brunette said, with a sad smile.

Her father shook his head, "I apologize for what I said about your mother, Valencia." He said looking into his daughter's eyes, searching for himself.

Valencia's lips twitched, "I'd say we're even. With me slapping you and all."

Her father chuckled and nodded, "So," He started, as the two began to walk to the elevator, "How old are you again?"

"Twenty."

"1994? That was a good year."

Valencia gagged making her father laugh, "Please stop. I get enough of that from my mother."

The two stepped on the elevator.

"Lobby." He called, "So your mother talked about me?" He asked, leaning against the elevator rail.

"Only the past two years." Valencia said.

Director Fury furrowed his brow, "The past two years?"

Valencia sighed, "I didn't know you were my father until two years ago...I found out myself, I don't think my mom was ever going to tell me…" She explained, biting her lip.

Nick nodded and a beat of silence passed as the elevator descended.

"You're mother used to do that." The man smiled at his daughter, "Chew on her lip. You look just like her."

Valencia rolled her eyes, "That's what I've been hearing my whole life."

He chuckled, "And you get that attitude from me, I see."

Valencia grinned, but it faltered. "So you're not angry at me? For finding you after all this time?"

Nick shook his head and opened his mouth to reply, when the elevator's doors opened. The two walked out and began to walk to the emblem at the middle of the room, where Steve was waiting. Steve looked from Fury to Valencia, searching their faces for an answer. Valencia curtly nodded to him and his face fought a grin.

"Let me walk you two out." Nick said, as they reached Steve. The three walked out to Steve's bike, which a black truck was parked next to it.

"Thank you for bringing her to me, Cap." Fury said nodding to the hero. Steve nodded back and got on his motorcycle.

Valencia turned to Fury and bit her lip, her eyes trained on the ground. Her father studied her with a frown, before pulling her into a tight embrace.

"The only person I am angry at is your mother, for keeping you a secret. But that is not your fault, you are my only child, my daughter. And now that I know you exist, I will do everything in my power to protect you." He said to her in a low voice, then after a final squeeze he let her go.

"I'll be in touch." He nodded toward Valencia and got in the black truck and drove off.

Valencia let out a breath and climbed on the back of Steve's bike.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Steve asked, revving his motorcycle.

"I'm going to throw up." Valencia groaned out, making Steve chuckle, as they drove off.

"Thank you for all your help today, Steve." Valencia said, as they stood in front of her door. Steve had insisted that he walk her up to her apartment.

The blonde hero rubbed the back of his neck, "It was no problem, Valencia. I kind of owed you for the ice cream." He quipped, making the brown girl giggle.

"There is one more thing I wanted to ask you, Steve." Valencia bit her lip.

Steve furrowed his eyebrows, "What's that?"

"Well I have this project, for my US History class, which is why I was at the museum today, and I was wondering if I could interview you." Valencia said, all in one breath, then looked to the side.

Steve nodded and grinned down at the rambling short woman, he leaned down and tilted his head to the right, catching Valencia's eye, "Of course you can. What's your project on?"

"You." Valencia said grinning shyly, "Captain America, I mean. The project is on American staples, like apple pie, hot dogs, y'know that sort of thing? Well you're the most American thing I know! Not that your an object or-"

Steve held his hand up and smiled, "I already said yes, Valencia. How about I give you my number and we can go over the details."

Valencia bit her lip to stop the wide grin from spreading over her face, "Sounds good." She nodded, and the two exchanged phone numbers.

"Okay Steve. Thanks again." Valencia said, getting up on the tips of her toes and pecking Steve's cheek.

The blonde hero turned pink and he bashfully smiled, "Goodbye, Valencia." He then turned and began to walk down the apartment building's stairs.

Valencia unlocked her door and stepped into her apartment, a smile set on her face. The sun was setting outside, streaming light into her home and setting a relaxing mood. She set down her bag and twirled to her sofa, collapsing on it.

Today was amazing, to say the least. She met her father and made a friend.

'A super friend.' Valencia thought to herself with a giggle.

Her phone buzzed from her bag, and she got up from her spot on the comfy sofa to retrieve it. She then plopped back down on the couch, putting her feet on her coffee table.

'You forgot your music box -Dad.' The text said on her phone. She smiled and called the number.

"Fury." A deep voice answered, with traffic in the background.

Valencia snorted, "I should start answering my phone like that, huh 'Dad.'"

Her father chuckled, "You could. You are a Fury after all. Valencia Fury."

"Smith-Fury," Valencia clarified, "My mother was adamant I have her last name."

"Birdie always wanted a girl," He said with a smile in his voice, "What's your middle name?"

"Renee."

"Valencia Renee Smith, huh? That's a great name, kid."

"Valencia Renee Smith-Fury." She corrected, earning a chuckle from her father.

"We have a lot of catching up to do, kid."

"Twenty years worth." Valencia chimed.

Her father laughed, "Two decades worth," His voice then got low, "Look, Val, things are about to get a little heavy on my end."

Valencia furrowed her eyebrows, "What do you mean?"

He sighed, "I mean, something is about to go down. I want you to stick with Cap for the next few days."

Valencia bit her lip, "Dad, seriously, you're starting to scare me."

"Don't believe everything you hear about me, and don't trust anyone." Valencia heard commotion coming from the phone. "There is an agent named Maria Hill, she is a friend. I told her about you, but I need you to tell no one else you're my kid, at least until I get back."

Valencia blinked and she heard wind blowing in the phone, "Dad, where are you going?"

"Take care of yourself. I love you, little Fury." The line went dead.

Valencia dropped her phone and hopped up from the couch. She checked the locks on her front door, and checked her windows, shutting her blinds in the process. The brunette began pacing the floor, the dire thoughts in her head running rampant.

Where was her father going? She had just gotten to him, and now he was going to be gone again. Her bottom lip was agitated and red, from her nervous nibbling. Was someone going to come after her? Did she need to start preparing herself to fight? There were too many questions that needed answers.

Valencia decided that she would stay in for the rest of the night. She wasn't sure what was going on, and she didn't want to put her life in danger, especially when it was getting dark. The bronze woman would feel safer if the sun was out and she could see who was around her.

Her father didn't explicitly say she was in danger, but she couldn't help but feel paranoid from his tone and his choice of words.

'Don't trust anyone.' What the hell did that even mean? She knew that he was a spy, or a director for a spy organization, so generally, it would be good for him not to trust anyone, since he would always be in danger. But Valencia had never experienced anything like this in her life.

But maybe she was overreacting.

Valencia spent the rest of the evening distracting herself with school work. She designed panels for her project, arranged pictures, and wrote questions to ask Steve. The brunette made herself some pan-fried chicken and corn for dinner, and after she ate she tidied up her apartment. Once she felt it was late enough, she hopped in the shower, the steam making her sleepy, and got dressed for bed. After wrapping her hair and brushing her teeth, she climbed in her bed, snuggled up against her pillows and fell asleep.

At half past midnight, Valencia was woken up by her cell phone ringing. She groaned and checked her screen, seeing a number she didn't recognize.

She furrowed her eyebrows before answering, "Hello?"

"Valencia, it's Steve. I'm sorry to call you so late but something happened to your father."

The brunette's eyes widened as she froze. "What?"

Steve sighed, "He's been shot, and he's in really bad shape. I don't want to scare you, but I think it would be best if you come meet me at George Mason."

Valencia let out a harbored breath, "Okay. I'm leaving right now." She hung up and jumped out of bed. She turned on her lamp and stumbled around her apartment, slipping on sweatpants and a hoodie. She yanked her head scarf off and tousled her hair, then she grabbed her wallet and keys and ran out the door.

The young brunette chewed on her lip as she sped away from her apartment. Tears were already threatening spill down her face, and she felt like she could barely breathe. Her mind was blank as she pulled up to the tall building, and she parked next to Steve's motorcycle. The front of the hospital was surrounded by men in S.H.I.E.L.D. uniforms and police, making Valencia pull up her hood to cover her face. She licked her lips as she hurried off her scooter and into the lobby of the hospital, where she saw Steve standing there.

As soon as Steve saw her he locked her in a tight embrace, her face buried into his chest.

"I'm so-" The blonde hero started to say but Valencia stopped him.

"Don't say that yet!" Valencia demanded and her voice softened, "Take me to him."

Steve let go of the short woman and led her to an observation room, with a window peeking into the operation room where Nicholas Fury was being operated on frantically.

Valencia had to stop herself from hyperventilating, as a tear ran down her face. "Fuck." She muttered, watching the father she just met suffer.

Steve looked away from her and looked on to the scene in the room next to them, leaning on the glass.

Valencia felt eyes on her and looked to her left, seeing a woman with a brunette tight bun, a button up, and a pencil skirt watching her as she spoke softly into her phone.

"Maria Hill, she works for your father." Steve muttered to her, not taking his eyes off Nick.

Valencia nodded and turned her attention back to her father.

A redheaded woman suddenly ran in the room, standing on the other side of Steve.

"Is he gonna make it?" She muttered, looking on with watery eyes, her mouth gaped.

"I don't know." Steve murmured back to her.

It was silent for a beat, then the redheaded woman turned her gaze to Valencia, her eyes questioned the young brunette, but said nothing, turning back to the operating room.

"Tell me about the shooter." She demanded in a low tone.

"He's fast, strong." Steve paused, taking a breath, "He had a metal arm." He finished, and clenched his jaw.

The redheaded woman's eyes widened, but she said nothing in return.

Valencia's mind was blank as she watched her father fight for his life. She didn't hear or see anything around her but him, and she was starting to lose hope.

Maria Hill stood beside the redhead, after her phone call was finished. She looked in to the operating room, lips parted, waiting for something to happen. Maria and the redhead shared some words, before an insistent beep rang through the hospital room.

The doctor's started to get frantic, and one of them grabbed the defibrillator.

"Don't do this to me, Nick." The redhead called, tears threatening to spill.

"Please don't take him away from me…" Valencia murmured, so quietly that no one heard it but Steve.

"3...2...1..Clear!" Her father's chest sprang up, but no sign of life came from him.

"No pulse." The doctor said as he shocked him again.

Valencia was crying now, biting her lips so hard that she drew blood. It was silent in the observation room, everyone was watching to see what would happen. Valencia sniffled and wiped her eyes, praying to every God she knew and begging for them to let her keep her daddy.

And then she heard the worst words that had ever passed through her ears.

"Time of death?"

"1:03, doctor."


	8. Feel Better

Valencia's mind was blank as the doctors that were given the task to save her father began to walk away from his lifeless body. She swallowed hardly and chewed on her lip, she was in such agony that the tears that had been going down her cheeks during the procedure had stopped, leaving nothing but dried trails in their wake. The young woman just stared blankly at her father. She turned to her right to see the mysterious redhead and not Steve, for he had left minutes before.

Finally realizing what had happened in front of her, Valencia left the observation room and sat in a waiting room chair, grasping her head in her hands. She tried to catch her breath but she could not stop herself from hyperventilating. She chewed on her lip harshly as the tears started to come back. She had watched her father die. The man she had just met, the man who she had yet to know, Nicholas Fury, was dead.

A hand rested itself on Valencia's shoulder, and her watery brown eyes looked up to find her blue eyed hero, Steve.

"Hey, are you alright?" He asked, taking a seat beside her, looking at the brunette in concern.

Valencia opened her red and agitated lips, "I.." She tried but a dry sob threatened to spill out, "I can't breath Steve." Her voice cracked and she put a hand over her mouth.

Steve pulled her into his arms and said nothing, lightly stroking her back. Valencia let out sobs and cried into Steve's shirt, fisting it and pulling herself closer to him.

"Why was Fury in your apartment?" A voice interrupted the two's mourning.

Steve looked up from Valencia and opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by another voice, "Cap they want you back at S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Give me a minute." He said, still calmly stroking Valencia's back.

"They want you now." The voice insisted.

"Okay." Steve said, nodding to the man.

"You're a terrible liar." The redhead said to Steve, walking off.

Steve sighed, patting Valencia on her back. "I have to go now, Valencia. Think you can make it home okay?"

Valencia sat up from Steve's chest and wiped her eyes. She nodded, her eyes downcast.

"Hey," The hero said, gently lifting the young woman's chin to force her brown eyes to meet his, "Can you make it home on your own?"

Valencia's sad eyes fluttered as she bit her lip and muttered out a 'Yes.'

"Okay, I'll come by and check on you later." He assured, moving his head just above hers and brushing his lips against her forehead.

The brunette sniffed and gave him a weak smile, "Thanks Steve."

"No problem, Valencia." He said flashing her one last smile then walking off.

Valencia took a breath and got up from her waiting room seat, going to the bathroom to fix herself up. She walked into the ladies' room and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She looked a mess. Her eyes were puffy and still watery and her lips were red and irritated. Valencia grabbed a few paper towels and wiped her eyes, then ran one under the tap to wet it. She then placed the wet paper towel on top of her entire face, letting the steam from the hot water cleanse her face. When she removed her paper towel she jumped, seeing the redhead from the observation room standing next to her and watching her in the mirror.

"Who are you?" The redhead asked calmly, a manicured eyebrow raising.

Valencia swallowed and turned back to the mirror, causally grooming herself. "Why do you need to know?" She smartly replied, face blank.

The redhead, raising another brow, asked her another question. "How do you know Fury?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business." Valencia said, throwing her paper towel away, "Now if you would excuse me." The brunette walked towards the door but the redhead blocked her from leaving, locking the door behind her.

"Look kid, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way." The redhead said, crossing her arms, "Now, who are you?"

Valencia glared at the woman, crossing her own arms across her chest. "It ain't none of your business, now move bitch." She tried to leave again but was pushed back by the redhead.

"Make me." The woman said, getting in Valencia's face.

The two were the same height and they stared at each other, not blinking.

Valencia's nostrils flared and she pushed the woman. "I said move. I'm really not in the mood to kick your ass, but I will."

The redhead sneered, "I'd like to see you try, kid."

She glared at the woman, "I'm not your fucking kid." She exclaimed, grabbing onto the woman's red locks and pulling her head forward, punching her in the nose.

The woman groaned and grabbed Valencia by her waist, head butting her in the stomach. Valencia let go of the woman and hunched over, trying to catch her breath. The woman took that opportunity to knee Valencia in the face.

"See? Now we match." The woman smirked, referring to both of their bloody noses. Valencia glared and put her fists up, and the woman did the same. The two circled each other, waiting for the other to make a mistake. Once the woman's back was to the sinks, Valencia charged toward her, pushing the woman's back into the bathroom counter, making her body snap back to the sinks, and then the brunette sweeped the redhead's feet from under her, making her fall on her face. Valencia straddled the woman's back and lifted her head up by her red hair, punching her in the face a few good times.

"I. told. you." Every word Valencia said was accentuated with a punch to the woman's face, "To. get. out. my. FUCKING. way." The brunette dropped the woman's head on the tiled floor and got off of her, walking away.

The woman suddenly grabbed Valencia's foot, making the brunette fall to the ground. The redhead started dragging Valencia back to her and the young Fury responded by kicking the woman in the face, successfully knocking her out. The brunette rolled herself on her front and jumped up, walking out the bathroom.

Valencia speed walked away from the bathroom, earning looks from the people in the hospital. She got to her scooter and hopped on, speeding away from the hospital, from the redhead, and from her father.

Valencia awoke the next day at three in the afternoon still in her clothes from the hospital, a sore face and multiple missed calls on her cellphone. She groaned running a hand through her hair, which she had not tied up the night before, and reached for her cellphone. She looked through her messages and her eyes widened.

She had forgot about her coffee date with Sam!

The brunette quickly dialed her dates number, praying for him to pick up.

"This better be good." Her date answered, in his usual lighthearted tone.

"I'm so sorry, Sam! I just woke up, I was out all night-"

"Partying without me?" Sam joked.

"Not quite… My dad died last night, so I was at the hospital las-"

Sam gasped, "What?! Jesus Val, I'm the one who should be sorry. Are you okay?"

Valencia sighed, "I could be better…"

"Well you ain't said nothing but a word, Val! I'll be over there in ten minutes with soup and chocolate...and I'll bring candy too!"

Valencia giggled at his joke, "Sam you really don't have to-"

"Val you're my favorite girl! Of course I have to! Text me your address and I'll be there asap! Sooner if teleportation was an option!"

Valencia snorted once again, "Fine. Come over. We can listen to Marvin Gaye and drink wine."

"Sounds like a plan, Val! See you soon, babe."

Valencia rolled her eyes at the pet name but smiled softly, "Yeah, okay, Romeo."

Sam jokingly made kissing noises in the phone then hung up.

Valencia hung up her phone, then looked at the other missed calls, the majority of them being from Steve. The brunette called her hero's number, but it went straight to voicemail.

"Must be at work." She muttered to herself, thinking nothing of it. The young woman got up from her bed and yanked off last night's clothes, walking to her bathroom and starting the shower. She looked herself in the mirror and groaned, the blood from her nose had dried on her face. Thanking the Lord that it wasn't broken, the brunette grabbed a washcloth, dampening it and scrubbing the blood of her face.

Who was that woman in the bathroom? She had been trying to get Valencia to reveal her identity to her, could she be one of the people that her father had been telling her not to trust? She would have to keep a look out for the redhead from now on.

Valencia wiped the dried tears from her cheeks and put eyedrops in her eyes to reduce the redness of them. She licked her lips and hopped in the shower, quickly cleansing herself and drying off. As she was walking to her closet in her towel, there was a knock at her door.

"Just a minute." Valencia yelled, running to her closet and sliding on a pair of boyshorts and an oversized t shirt. She quickly put on some pajama shorts, and grabbed her brush, hurriedly running it through her hair. Once she was satisfied with how she looked, she ran to the door and opened it, greeting her friend.

"I bought the wine! And the chocolate." Sam said smirking, walking in to her apartment and putting the bags he brought on her kitchen counter.

Valencia snorted, "You're disgusting." She locked the door behind him, and followed him to her 'kitchen'. She jumped up on her one of her counters and sat on it, swinging her bare legs back and forth.

"What'd I say?" Sam said innocently, holding up a hershey's bar.

Valencia snatched it out his hand and unwrapped it, taking a bite. Sam watched her with a small grin.

"So, how ya holding up?" The mahogany skinned man said, leaning against the kitchen counter opposite of the one she was sitting on.

Valencia slowed her chewing and smiled softly at Sam, "I'm still here, so yay for that."

Sam offered her a smile, "Thank God for that," He started to say, coming toward her and putting his hands on each side of her, "I don't know what I'd do without you."

Valencia snorted and pushed Sam away from her with her index finger, "Probably find someone else to bother."

Sam slumped against her refrigerator with a hand over his heart, "Why do you like to hurt me?"

Valencia jumped down from the counter, hershey bar now finished, and looked up at Sam with wide innocent eyes, "Because I'm a masochist. You know whips and chains and such."

Sam chuckled at her and Valencia went through the bag he brought.

"So pinot grigio," She said taking the bottle out the bag and placing it on her counter, "A copy of The Notebook," She listed, taking the DVD out the bag.

"For romance." Sam informed her, making the brunette snort.

"A copy of Soul Food?"

"For the heart."

"A copy of Boyz in the Hood? Why the hell would I want to watch Boyz in the Hood?" Valencia exclaimed.

"Well that one was for me." Sam muttered, smiling when Valencia laughed.

"You're so…." Valencia trailed off, trying to find the word, but she just settled with saying, "Thank you Sam. Really."

Sam grinned at Valencia and shook his head, "It's nothing, Val. We're friends, aren't we?"

Valencia beamed at him and walked around her kitchen counter to hug her friend. "Yeah," She said into his neck, "Best friends, buddy."

"That's great, pal." He replied, putting his arms around her.

Valencia held in a laugh and pulled back from their hug, looking up at Sam and grinning. "Sure is, homie."

He smiled down at her, "Back at cha, home girl." He said, then winked at her, making Valencia snort, and let go off him, playfully shoving him away from her.

The two walked to the 'living room' where Sam sat on the couch and Valencia put in 'The Notebook'.

"Why do we have to watch this first?" Sam whined, as Valencia plopped down next to him.

"The romance." Valencia said, mimicking his deep voice.

"I don't sound like that." Sam said, slyly wrapping his arm around the young brunette.

Valencia snickered and pressed play on her remote while Sam pouted at her. Noticing the expression on her friends face, the brunette grinned up at him, and moved closer into his embrace. The two friends sat on the couch and watched the movie, Sam secretly sneaking glances at the Valencia. The mentioned brunette just watched the movie with wide, watery eyes.

"Did you bring my soup?" Valencia whispered, interrupting Sam's stare.

"Uh, yeah. I'll get it." He said, getting up from the couch and making her a bowl of chicken noodle soup.

"You're a good friend." Valencia murmured to Sam, as he handed her a bowl.

"Thanks, babe." He replied, wrapping his arm around the woman again. Valencia noticed how his arm had found itself back around her but said nothing, opting to slurping her soup instead.

The rest of the day and early morning was spent watching movies and exchanging jokes. The two had now become very acquainted, and at one point Valencia even fell asleep on Sam's chest. Throughout the entire evening, Sam didn't ask Valencia about her father's death, thinking that when she wanted to talk about it with him she would. He was just there to make sure she was alright, and she remind her that she didn't have to be alone. After all, from his personal experience he knew that mourning was best done with other people. So he distracted her for the night.

At one o'clock in the morning the wine was gone, the candy eaten, and the movies watched.

"You don't have to leave, Sam! Really, you could sleep on the couch." Valencia tried to reason with her friend.

Sam shook his head while shrugging on his jacket, "Nah, Val. I don't want you to get the wrong idea about what I was trying to do."

Valencia rolled her eyes, "I get it, you're a total gentleman! So stay!"

Sam unlocked her front door, "I'm probably going to regret this when I get home, but goodbye Val."

The brunette pouted at Sam but kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for everything, Sam. I'll find a way to make it up to you."

Sam smiled at her, "You don't have to, Val. Seriously."

Valencia rolled her eyes, "Oh hush, Samuel."

He grinned and took one last look at the young woman. Her normally pristine hair was messy and plaited, her brown friendly eyes, her pouting full lips, and her scrunched up nose. Her arms crossed over her (braless) chest, and her short, shapely legs crossed over one another in an awkward pose.

"Bye Val." With one last smile, he was gone.

Valencia locked the door behind him and slumped against it, falling all the way to the ground. She chewed on her lip as the reality of her situation came back to her. She was now alone, which meant she could not avoid it anymore.

Her father was dead.

The brunette brought her legs up to her body, and put her face in her knees, tears now coming down her face. After a few moments she got up from her floor and got into her bed. She reached for her phone and dialled Steve's number. For the fourth time that day, it went straight to voicemail, leaving Valencia with no one to talk to. She couldn't call her mother. She had outright disobeyed her, and now, in a way, she was facing the consequences.

A sob got caught in Valencia's throat as the thought went through her mind. Her mother told her not to find her father, but she did, and now he was dead. Maybe fate was trying to tell her something. Like a sick, 'Always honor your parents.' lesson. Maybe she had learned it. Maybe she didn't.

Valencia decided she would not go to her classes tomorrow. Instead, she would go to Sam's house, and hang out with him, so she wouldn't be alone. Because in times like these, one should never be alone.


	9. Pilot

"Come on Sam! I thought you were supposed to be in the military!" Valencia said, turning around and watching Sam jog behind her, completely out of breath.

"I was a pilot!" Sam defended himself and puffing out a breath and trying to keep up with the young woman.

Valencia laughed, "Pilots still have to run Sam!" She teased, taking off.

Sam watched her with tired eyes and increased his pace, trying to run next to Valencia.

Valencia had decided to cook Sam breakfast, to repay him for cheering her up. But when Valencia showed up to his house with a bag of groceries, Sam was dressed for his morning run. Always the versatile one, Valencia put the groceries in the kitchen, borrowed a pair of his sweatpants and a loose shirt and joined him for his run. Promising, of course, to cook breakfast for him when they returned home.

Sam didn't think that he would be the one struggling to keep up with her, but with everything else about Valencia; it was a pleasant surprise.

"Val," He said, puffing out a breath, "I need a break. Can we take a break?"

Valencia held in a laugh and slowed down for Sam, leading him to a water fountain. Sam hunched over the fountain, gulping down mouthfuls of water, while Valencia watched him with an amused smirk.

"You really need to get in shape, Sam."

"Do I? Or do you need to get a little out of shape." Sam said, regaining his strength, "Just a thought."

The brunette snorted, "Do you want to go back home Sam?"

"Please." He jokingly begged, slumping against the short woman and wrapping his arm around shoulders.

"Okay big baby, let's get you back to your crib."

Sam laughed as they began to walk back to his home, "As long as you call me baby, I don't care that you insult me."

"I should have brought a pacifier to shut you up." Valencia quipped.

Sam groaned, "That's it, Val. Talk dirty to me!"

Valencia scrunched her nose in disgust and pushed the heavy man off of her. "Just for that you can walk home by yourself."

"Aw baby, don't be like that!" Sam exclaimed, following after her like a lost, well more like lovesick, puppy.

With Sam trailing behind her and shouting things, Valencia made her way back to his house. It was pretty and simple, well that's how Valencia described it, and it was moderately sized. He had two bedrooms with bathrooms, a kitchen, living room, laundry room and a breakfast nook. It was decorated very Sam-ly, it that makes sense, and she could tell that he lived by himself. It was very much a 'bachelor pad'.

"There's a shower in the guest bathroom. Unless-" Valencia interrupted a hopeful sounding Sam, "No." She simply said, making her way up the stairs.

"Can't blame a guy for trying!" Sam yelled after her.

"Says who?" Valencia shouted back before shutting the guest room door. She went into the guest bathroom and turned on the shower. She stripped out of Sam's clothes and got in the shower and washed herself quickly. When she was finished she dried herself off, wrapping a towel around her body. The brunette walked back into the guest room and put the clothes she arrived in back on; a pair of black skinny jeans and a black tanktop. She put her black and white polkadotted socks back on and trotted down the stairs to Sam's kitchen, where she was going to cook breakfast.

"Straight from the bottle, huh?" Valencia commented with an amused smile. She was leaning on the kitchen door frame, watching Sam drink orange juice straight from the bottle.

Sam opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by a knock on his back door. Valencia looked at him confused, "Were you expecting anyone?" Sam shook his head, pulling the shutters on the door up.

"We need someplace to lay low for a while." A voice said.

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us." Another voice added.

"Not everyone." Sam said, stepping aside.

Valencia couldn't see who was at the door as he let whomever it was in. The brunette's mouth dropped as Steve and the redheaded woman from the hospital walked into the kitchen. They were covered in, what looked like, soot and they were breathing heavily.

As soon as Valencia and the redhead saw each other, they put their fists up ready to fight.

"Why is she here?" The two woman exclaimed at the same time, glaring at each other.

"Woah woah woah." Sam said putting his hands between the two woman.

"What's going on here?" Steve asked looking between the two.

"This is the girl I was telling you about Steve!" The redhead informed the blonde hero.

Steve looked at Valencia with wide eyes, "You knocked Natasha out?"

"She kneed me in the face!" Valencia exclaimed, still glaring at the woman.

The redhead scoffed, "That's only because you broke my nose!"

Valencia looked the woman incredulously, "You were threatening me in a public bathroom, the fuck else was I supposed to do?" The brunette turned to Steve, "Who is she anyway and why are you with her?"

"Her name is Natasha Romanoff and she worked for your father." Steve said, walking toward Valencia and lowering her fists.

"Father?" Natasha asked, lowering her own fists and looking at Valencia curiously. "Nick Fury was your father?"

Valencia sighed, "Yeah. Kinda makes you feel like an asshole now, don't it?"

Natasha shook her head, "I don't live with regrets."

"Well I would think not since, technically, I was the one who kicked your ass." Valencia quipped and Natasha raised an eyebrow and smirked at the brunette. "Point taken."

"Now that that is handled, is there any place we can clean up?" Steve asked Sam.

Sam nodded, "There's a guest room up the stairs to the right."

"Great, come on Nat." Steve gestured to Natasha, who was now sizing Valencia up with a smirk.

"What?" Valencia glared at her and the redhead held her hands up in surrender. "Nothing." She replied with a smirk, "I just should have known." She quipped as she walked up the stairs with Steve.

"So," Sam started, getting the ingredients out to cook breakfast, "You want to tell me what that was about as we cook?"

Valencia smiled, "Sure, show me where the pans are."

Valencia and Sam cooked eggs, pancakes, and bacon, cracking jokes and teasing each other the whole time.

"You want to go tell the boy wonder and cat woman that breakfast is ready?" Sam asked, putting plates on the table.

"Well since you asked so nicely." Valencia quipped trotting up the steps. She walked to the guestroom, but heard Steve and Natasha talking in hushed voices, so she leaned against the wall and eavesdropped.

"Be honest, if it were the other way around, would you trust me to do it?" Natasha asked.

"I would now." Steve muttered back to her, pausing, "And I'm always honest."

A beat of silence passed, before Natasha spoke again, "You seem pretty chipper for someone who just found out they died for nothing."

"I guess I just like to know who I'm fighting."

Valencia took that moment to knock on the door frame, peeking into the room. "Breakfast is ready."

The two people got up from their seats on the bed and being the gentlemen that he is, Steve let Natasha leave the room before him. As he was leaving the guestroom Valencia put her arm out to stop him.

"Not so fast, Steven." Valencia said, facing the hero and trying to look intimidating, though that was hard to accomplish being that she was only five feet and four inches tall. "Why haven't you been answering my calls?"

Steve rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "I've kind of been off the grid the past couple of days." He explained. "Sorry." He apologized sheepishly.

The brunette's eyebrow quirked up, "So is she your girlfriend, then?" The young woman asked with a smirk.

The blonde's cheeks tinted pink and he shook his head furiously, "No, we're just friends. Co-workers really." He sputtered.

Valencia snorted and turned on her heel, heading down the stairs. When she saw Steve was still in the doorframe of the guest bedroom she laughed again. "I was just kidding, Steve!" She snorted, "God, you're so sensitive! Come on!" She waved her hand at him and he followed her down the stairs, embarrassed.

"You're so fun to mess with, Steve!" Valencia said as the two walked from the stairway to the kitchen. "I missed you though." The brunette young woman said, hugging the blonde's bicep.

He chuckled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, giving her a tight squeeze, "I missed you two, Valencia." The two stayed connected until they reached the kitchen, Steve dropping his hold on Valencia. But Valencia kept clutching onto Steve's bicep, her cheek pressed to his upper arm.

"What took you two so long?" Natasha questioned, smirking at Valencia's hold on Steve.

"I had a word with Steve." Valencia said, finally letting go of the hero and sitting at the table. "My eggs are good, aren't they?" She asked Sam, who was stuffing his face with said eggs.

Sam nodded eagerly, continuing to eat.

Valencia fixed herself a plate of food and began eating. She looked to the side of her and saw that Steve was only eating a small portion of food, so she grabbed his plate and piled on more food, placing it back in front of him. He gave her a questioning look and she replied by saying, "Don't be rude, Steve, I slaved over this meal-"

"Hey! I helped!" Sam butted in and Valencia glared at him, "Yes you did, Sam. Eat up Steve, don't insult me."

Steve sheepishly grinned and began eating the food she placed on his plate.

"You sound like their mother." Natasha noted with an amused expression, chewing on a piece of bacon.

"Somebody has to." Valencia quipped back, biting into her own piece of bacon.

When everyone had finished their food, they stayed in the kitchen area and lounged, talking about what had happened. Sam and Valencia were washing dishes, Natasha was leaning against the kitchen wall, and Steve was still seated at the table.

"So the question is who at S.H.I.E.L.D. could launch a domestic missile strike?" Natasha asked, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Piers." Steve answered simply.

Natasha sighs and walks over to Steve, "Who happens to be sitting in the most secure building in the world."

"He's not working alone, Zola's algorithm is on the Lemurian star."

Natasha's head whipped to Steve. "So is Jasper Sitwell."

"So the real question is how did the two most wanted people in the world kidnap a S.H.I.E.L.D. officer in the daylight?" Steve inquired.

Sam walked out of the kitchen, leaving Val to finish drying the dishes. "The answer is," Sam came back in the kitchen and dropped a file on the table, "You don't."

"What's this?" Steve asked, looking through the file.

"Call it a resume." Sam said, leaning against his counter. Valencia walked into the breakfast nook and looked over Steve's shoulder at the file.

"You didn't say he was a pararescue." Natasha said, holding up a picture of Sam and another guy.

"You said you were a pilot…" Valencia muttered off, "So what the are these?" She held up a picture of mechanical wings.

"I never said what I was flying." Sam said smartly and smirked at the brunette. Valencia narrowed her eyes at him and he winked back at her..

"I can't ask you to do this, Sam." Steve said, shaking his head. "You got out for a good reason."

"Dude, Captain America needs my help, I can't think of a better reason."

Steve nodded to Sam, "How can we get our hands on one of these things?"

"The last one is at Fort Meade. Behind three guarded gates and a twelve inch steel wall."

Steve looked at Natasha and she shrugged, indicating that it was nothing for them to get to.

"Shouldn't be a problem." Steve quipped.

"Great, let's go." Valencia said, going to get her tennis shoes.

"Hold on, Valencia." Steve grabbed her arm, "I don't think you should come with us."

The brunette narrowed her eyes and her face set in a deep frown. Her jaw clenched as she crossed her arms over her chest. "May I have a word," Her voice said, at a deadly tone, "Captain?" She spit out his name.

Steve's eyes widened and he nodded, following the stomping woman to the living room.

"Glad I'm not him right now." Sam joked, watching Steve follow the short woman like a scolded child.

Natasha said nothing in reply as her green eyes watched the two walk to the next room.

In the living room, Valencia stood with her eyes fixed in a glare and her foot tapping impatiently on the ground.

"Are you serious?" She finally exclaimed after a moment of silence, "I knocked Natasha Romanoff out! Clean out! You told me she's an assassin, did you not? I asked you a question!"

Steve muttered a yes, looking down at his feet. He looked up at Valencia with hard eyes, "Don't speak to me like I'm some little boy, Valencia!"

"Well then don't talk to me like I'm some little girl who can't defend herself! My mother was a trained spy from the time she turned sixteen and she taught me everything she knows! You think I would ask to go with you if I didn't know what I was doing?"

"Lower your voice, Valencia. I didn't mean it like-"

"LOWER MY VOICE?" She exclaimed.

"Calm down! You're always overreacting!" Steve said in an even tone, taking a step towards her.

"I'm overreacting? That's hilarious coming from a man that was ready to kill me when he found out who my father was!"

Steve clenched his jaw, "Now that's not fair-"

"You're not being fair!" The brunette exclaimed.

"Sorry to interrupt," Natasha said, coming in the living room, "But you said your mother was an agent? What was her name?"

"Rebecca 'Blackbird' Smith."

Natasha's eyes widened, "Blackbird is your mother?"

Valencia, still glaring at Steve, nodded to Natasha.

"And she taught you everything she knows?"

Valencia, again, nodded. "From the time I was eight."

Natasha nodded to her and turned to a red Steve, "Cap, she is coming with us."

"But-" He raised his voice to object but Natasha held her hand up.

"She knocked me out, that is enough proof for me. Now if you two would stop arguing like little children, we're on a time limit." Natasha walked out of the room and left the two in silence.

They stared at eachother for a moment, neither of them saying anything. Valencia chewed on her lip nervously, and Steve shoved both of his hands in his pockets.

"I'm sorry." They both blurted it out at the same time.

"Eh, I'm sorry for yelling at you and not listening to what you had to say. I kind of get that from my mom." Valencia said, sheepishly.

"It's alright, Valencia. I'm sorry for not listening to you either." He held up his hand for her to shake, "Friends?"

Valencia grinned and shook his hand, "Friends." She let go of his hand and hugged him, wrapping her arms around his middle.

"It's really important that I do this, Steve. For my dad's sake." She muttered into his chest.

Steve smiled softly in her hair, "I get it, Valencia. Sorry again." He pulled back and brushed his lips against her forehead.

"Why do you do that?" Valencia asked, looking up at the tall blonde through her thick lashes.

Steve shrugged, his arms still around the short woman. "You want me to stop?"

"No it's not that, it's just...," Valencia trailed off thoughtfully, looking looking away from his questioning eyes, "You make me feel so small."

Steve thought for a moment before he chuckled and pulled away from their embrace.

"You are small." He teased the short brunette, ruffling her hair like a little kid.

Valencia's face broke out in a grin. "No, you're just a giant!" The short brunette quipped back, running a hand through her hair to fix it.

"Well that was fast." Natasha remarked, leaning against the door frame with a smirk, making the blonde hero turn a pretty pink and the bronze brunette bite her lip nervously.

"We had a disagreement is all." Valencia said, her eyes looking off to the side.

Steve cleared his throat and nodded, "It's all resolved now."

"Well if you two are done, we have a job to do." Natasha replied, casting an amused look at the two.

"Right, to Fort Meade we go then." The Captain nodded, giving Valencia a small smile when he caught her eye.


	10. Old Friends

(A/N: Please comment and tell me what ya'll think of this story... Some of you are awful quiet.)

Valencia was filing her nails on the top of a, very high, building. She was waiting for Natasha and Steve to come up with Jasper Sitwell, the hydra agent that had worked for Shield. Sam had brought Sitwell to them in a blackened car, where Steve and Natasha were going to interrogate him or, you know, throw him off the building.

The door she was leaning next to slammed open and a bald man in a business suit was kicked through the doorway, Natasha and Steve following him, on to the roof. Valencia put her sharp nail file in her back pocket, kicking away from the wall, and observing the scene in front of her.

"Tell me about Zola's algorithm." Steve demanded calmly, as Sitwell nervously walked backwards towards the edge of the roof.

"Never heard of it!" Sitwell said, huffing and puffing.

Steve didn't relent on his questioning, "What were you doing on the Lemurian Star?"

"I was throwing up," Sitwell smartly answered, "I get seasick."

Steve, unamused by Sitwell's answer, grabbed on to the bald man, holding him over the edge of the building with a glare.

Sitwell smirked, "Is this little display meant to insinuate that you would throw me off the roof? Because that's really not your style, Captain Rogers."

Valencia raised an eyebrow from behind them, covering up a snort with a cough. Steve glanced behind his shoulder at her, then he turned back to Jasper Sitwell and smiled.

"You're right." The hero said, letting go of the man. "It's not." Steve stepped aside, "It's hers."

Natasha kicked the well dressed man off the building. Valencia calmly walked to the edge and watched him fall.

"What about that girl from accounting?" Natasha asked Steve, "Laura?"

"Lilian." Steve corrected, "With the lip piercing right?"

Natasha nodded, "She's cute!"

Steve shook his head, "I'm not ready for that."

Valencia snorted and raised her brunette brows, "What about the girl at the front desk, Amanda, I think… She seemed to like you, Captain Rogers." The bronze woman said, mimicking how the woman practically purred out Steve's name.

"Don't you start, Val." Steve retorted, mocking the way Sam said Valencia's name.

Before Valencia could reply, Sam flew up and dropped Sitwell back on the roof. The three turned around and walked towards them. Sitwell raised his hand in surrender and proceeded to tell them about the Zola's algorithm.

"Zola's algorithm evaluates people's past," Sitwell smirked at Valencia, "To predict their future."

Steve stepped in front of Valencia protectively, "What then?"

Sitwell looked down, now aware of the danger he was now in. "Oh God, Pierce is going to kill me."

"What then?" Steve demanded, taking a threatening step towards the bald man.

"The helicarrier swipes people of the list," Sitwell paused, "A few million at a time."

"Oh my God." Valencia muttered out, her hand over her mouth.

"We have to get to headquarters." Steve said, running a hand through his hair, "Sam, Valencia, meet us downstairs. Nat, secure Sitwell and come with me."

Everyone broke away, Nat and Steve taking Sitwell back into the building.

"Looks like it's me and you, Val." Sam said slyly, smiling jokingly at the short woman but Valencia was too distracted to pick a playful fight with him.

"Did you see the way Sitwell looked at me?" She muttered, with a thoughtful look on her face. "Do you think he knows who I am?"

Sam shook his head, "No, even if he did, what does that matter?"

Valencia looked hardly at Sam, "What if Hydra already knows I exist? That I'm Nick Fury's daughter." The brunette's eyes widened, "What if my mom is on that list?"

Sam put his hands on Valencia's shoulders and softly shook her, "Calm down, Val. That's what we're going to put an end to, isn't it?"

Valencia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "You're right Sam." She said, shaking her head.

"I know I'm right! Now come on girl, we gotta get downstairs." Sam said, letting go of Valencia's shoulders and grabbing her around the waist.

"Your hands are a little low there-" Valencia was cut off by Sam jumping off the building. She held in a scream as she clutched on to Sam, her eyes wide. The mahogany man just laughed at her and landed in front of the building, where Steve, Natasha and the car were waiting.

As soon as they touched the ground Valencia let go of Sam and slapped his chest, glare fastened on her face.

"Are you outta your damn mind? A little warning would have been nice!" Valencia exclaimed, stomping over to the car.

Sam just laughed as he put his wings and goggles in the trunk of the car. Valencia rolled her eyes and got in the backseat. Natasha was beside her in the middle and Jasper Sitwell was sitting next to her. Steve was in the front seat.

"His hands were a little low, don't you think, Valencia?" Steve muttered to Valencia over his shoulder.

Valencia raised an eyebrow at him, though he couldn't see the sly smile on her face. "Why do you care, Captain Rogers?" She replied smartly, raising a delicate brow.

Steve cleared his throat and said nothing. Natasha nudged Valencia and gave her a knowing look. Sam got in the driver's seat of the car and started driving towards Shield headquarters.

"Insight's launching in a couple of hours, we're cutting it a little close here." Natasha said, leaning to the front seat.

"I know, we're going to override the DNA scans and get into the helicarriers directly." Steve informed her.

"What?" Sitwell exclaimed, "That is a terrible, terrible-" Something landed on the top of the car and flung Sitwell out.

It all happened so fast. Valencia looked to Natasha and the redhead nodded to her. Natasha flung herself to the front seat and kicked Sam and Steve out the way of the bullets while Valencia hit the floor of the backseat of the car, narrowly missing the bullets meant for her and Natasha.

Sam put the car in park quickly and a man in dressed in all black with a metal arm flipped off the car but landed on his feet.

"Who is that?" Valencia exclaimed, as the man stood up, facing the car. Before anyone could answer her, an SUV rear ended them, making them barrel forward. The man with the metal arm flipped on to the top of the car once more, ripping the steering wheel out. Natasha shot into the top of the car, hopping to hit the man.

"Valencia, front, now!" Natasha yelled, and Valencia maneuvered herself to the front and on to Sam's lap, who, for once, was too scared to make a joke about their suggestive position.

The SUV rammed into them again, making the car start to spin out of control. Steve grabbed his shield and put it to one of the doors. He grabbed on to Valencia, and she grabbed on to Sam. "Hang on!" The hero exclaimed, ramming against the car door. It fell off the car and all of them hung on to each other as the skidded down the road. Sam and Valencia rolled away from Natasha and Steve, who were still hanging on to the door. Valencia landed on top of Sam, but then quickly jumped up and ran. The metal-armed man had shot Steve off the bridge, and was now shooting at Valencia, Sam, and Natasha with a semi automatic, with his comrades behind him also shooting at them. Valencia hid with Natasha behind a car, with Sam on the other side of them.

"Run!" Natasha ordered Valencia, and the bronze woman followed her instruction, with Sam not to far behind her.

As Natasha occupied the metal-armed man, Sam and Valencia hid behind a car, waiting for their chance to attack.

"Okay you got the one on the right, I got the left." Sam said to Val and she nodded, taking the nail file out her back pocket. Sam muttered a 'now'. And the two came from behind the car, Sam attacking the man on the left. Valencia ran out and kicked the man in the back of his leg, making him fall back towards her, she grabbed the man by his hair and jutted her nail file in his jugular before kicking him off the bridge. She wiped her nail file on her pants, pocketing it again. She then looked to Sam, who was watching her with a rifle in his hand.

"Wow…" Sam trailed off, looking at her with wide eyes making Valencia roll her own. "Just shoot." She replied hastily, pointing at where Steve was below them. Sam followed her instruction, yelling, "Go! I got this!" to Steve. After Sam had shot of all of the operatives. He ran back to the car to get his wings, telling Valencia to stay and wait for him.

"What's with men and telling me to wait?" Valencia muttered to herself, as she grappled down the bridge, using one of ziplines the men had left on a car. Once she was on her feet, she ran towards the gun shots. As she came up to Natasha hiding behind a car, the bronze woman stopped, seeing the metal-armed man above the redhead, aiming at her.

Valencia opened her mouth to scream for Natasha, but Steve quickly deflected the man, and the two began to fight. The brunette ran towards Natasha and ducked behind the car.

"What happened?" Valencia said, tearing the bottom of her shirt for a makeshift bandage.

"My shoulder. I got shot in my shoulder." Natasha replied, out of breath.

Valencia slipped Natasha's jacket off and tightly wrapped her ripped shirt around her shoulder. Natasha watched her with a blank look, "You really are their kid, huh?"

Valencia furrowed her brows and pressed her hand against Natasha's wound to stop the bleeding. "What are you talking about?"

"Blackbird and Fury's. You really are their kid." Natasha clarified, her eyes searching Valencia's.

"Apparently." The bronze woman answered smartly, "I was shocked when I found out too."

Natasha smirked at her, then the both of them looked past the car and saw Sam knock the metal-armed man over.

"Get the bazooka over there! Quick!" Natasha muttered to Valencia, and the brunette did what she was told.

The metal-armed man got up and turned to shoot Steve, but Valencia hit him with a rocket. Steve eyes widened when he saw that it was Valencia that had saved him from the metal-armed man. His eyes met hers and an unsaid message of thanks traveled between their gazes.

All of a sudden armoured trucks police trucks started to come barreling to the scene. SWAT teams started rushing towards them, and a man that Valencia recognized from the hospital started shouting at Steve.

"Shield down! Get on your knees!" Steve compiled, his hands raised in the air. A man came up behind him and pointed a gun to the back of his head.

"Not here!" The man from the hospital insisted.

Valencia glared as one of the SWAT members arrested her, Natasha and Sam, putting them in the back of a SUV with two armed guards. One of the men threw Steve in the SUV and shut the doors.

"It's him." Steve said, once they were in motion. "He looked right at me and he didn't even know me."

"The guy from the museum? James Barnes? How can that be, Steve?" Valencia asked, her brows furrowed.

"Yeah, it was 70 years ago." Sam added, confused.

"Zola." Steve quickly answered, staring at the ground, "Bucky's whole unit was captured in '43, Zola experimented on him. Whatever he did helped Bucky survive the fall. He must have found him and-"

"None of that's your fault Steve." Natasha interrupted him.

Steve didn't reply and instead looked away, clenching his jaw. No one said anything else about it, but Valencia looked at Steve and nudged him with her shoulder, trying to get his attention. He just shook his head at her. The brunette bit her lip and nudged Steve again, more urgently. His blue eyes finally looked to her and looked into her eyes. Valencia didn't have to say a word, because it all Steve need to see was in her eyes. Steve continued to look into her big brown eyes, his mind jumping back to the memory of when they were in the museum and she had comforted him without a word. He marveled at how Valencia could say so much, without saying anything at all. It reminded him of his mother when he was growing up in Brooklyn.

He nodded his head to her, not looking away and leaned his body into her, pressing his lips softly against her forehead. An unsaid 'thank you' lingering between them.

Unbeknownst to the two, they had an audience.

Sam watched them with a somber look and turned away, catching sight of Natasha's shoulder, which was bleeding through Valencia's makeshift bandage.

"We need a medic in here! If we don't put pressure on that wound, she may bleed out!" Sam exclaimed and the guard pulled out a taser, gesturing to the mahogany man threateningly. Sam back away from the guard, but then the guard did something puzzling. They tazed the guard next to them, making the guard fall over. Then they took off their helmet, to reveal that the guard was a woman. The woman that Valencia saw at the hospital.

"That helmet was squeezing my brain!" The woman exclaimed.

"Maria Hill?" Valencia asked, puzzled.

Maria nodded to her, "Nice to finally meet you Valencia." She then turned to Sam, "Who's this guy? Is this your boyfriend, Baby?" She asked, looking at Valencia.

"No, and Baby?" Valencia asked questioningly.

Maria just shrugged, "It's what we call you back at HQ. You know, Baby Fury."

Valencia groaned, "I really hope that doesn't stick."

"It's too late, it's your codename. Now, let's get out of here." She said, taking out her taser a cutting a square in the bottom of the van.

One by one, they got out of the SUV, rolling to the side of the road.

"Here comes our ride." Maria said, as a black van rolled up to them. They climbed into the van, riding farther into the woods. The van pulled up to an abandoned man-made dam. Once they got out the car, they hurriedly walked down a narrowed passageway.

"GSW, she's lost about a pint of blood already." Maria yelled to a man, coming towards them.

"Let me take her." He responded but Maria shook her head, "She'll want to see him first."

Valencia looked at Maria, questioningly but she just shook her head and kept walking. Once they came to the end of the passageway, Maria pushed back plastic curtains that were hanging from the ceiling.

Valencia's jaw dropped and everyone stood in silence.

Staring at them from a hospital bed was her, very alive, father.

Her father sat up in his bed and looked at her with a smirk, "It's about damn time."


	11. Little Bird

"Lacerated spinal column, cracked sternum, shattered collarbone, perforated liver, and one hell of a headache." Nick Fury said, listing all of his injuries.

Valencia was at her father's side, staring at him in disbelief. He was alive, beaten up, but alive.

"Don't forget your collapsed lung." The doctor that was treating Natasha's shoulder wound added.

"Let's not forget that, but otherwise, I'm good." Her father said, nonchalantly.

"They cut you open," Natasha said in disbelief, "Your heart stopped."

"Detrixotoxine B." The patched man explained, "Slows the pulse down to one beat a minute. Banner developed it for stress. Didn't work so great for him but we found a use for it."

"Why all the secrecy?" Steve asked, his face blank.

"Yeah," Valencia added from beside the director, "Why not just tell us?"

"Any attempt on the director's life had to look successful." Maria explained.

"They can't kill you if you're already dead. Besides," The Director paused, "I wasn't sure who to trust."

Valencia bit her lip and stared hardly at her father.

Nick Fury caught his daughter's eye and looked back at the other people in the room. "Could I have a moment alone with my daughter please?" He asked, and everyone cleared out the makeshift hospital room. "Alright," He said turning back to his daughter, "I know that look, you can yell at me now, little bird."

Valencia's glare faltered for a moment, "What did you call me?"

"Little bird." He replied, "Because you look just like your mother used to when she was angry with me."

The brunette rolled her eyes at his explanation. "Are you serious, Dad?" She exclaimed, "The day I meet you, you fake your death? What kind of dramatic bullshit is that? You could have told me!"

"Watch your mouth, young lady! I'm still your damn father!" Fury demanded in his deep voice.

Valencia got up from the bed and paced back and forth for a few moments, calming herself down. "Is this what I have to look forward to with you?" She exclaimed, facing the hospital bed, "Having my emotions played with by a senile old man? Because I have had to do things in the past few days that I've never done in my life! I got attacked in the fucking bathroom because of you!"

Fury raised an eyebrow and nodded, "Yeah I heard about that… You knocked Romanoff out?"

Valencia huffed and exclaimed, "That's not the point!" The young woman sighed, collecting herself, "You're lucky that my mother taught me self defense because I could have been dead by now. Like actually dead, not your kind of dead!"

"Calm down little bird! Didn't I tell you that shit was going to get heavy? Didn't I?" Her father asked her, beckoning her over to him with his hand.

Valencia walked to him and sat on the side of his hospital bed again. She bit her lip and nodded.

"Well maybe you didn't think it would be this extreme, but this is what I do. I'm a director of a secret organization. Birdie is your mother, and I am sure she taught you how to properly defend yourself, so I was not worried about whether or not you would be alright, hell I knew that you would do fine. You're my fucking kid." He said, his hand clutching her shoulder.

The brunette slowly looked in her father's eyes, blinking away tears. "I'm sorry," She breathed out, "I just, I thought you were really gone."

The patched man sighed, putting his hand behind Valencia's head and bring her forehead to his. "Little bird," He said, catching her attention, "I am fine. Broken up, angry as hell, but fine. We're going to get through this. Me and you. Okay?" He finished, looking into her matching brown eyes.

Valencia nodded and Fury patted her on the head, "Good girl. Now wipe your eyes."

Valencia let out a breath and did what she was told. "Can I just get a little heads up next time? I mean, I am your fucking kid." She joked, mirroring his words.

Fury laughed loudly and nodded, "Sure, kid. Now help me out this damn bed, we need to strategize."

Everyone was in another one of the rooms in the bunker talking out their plan of attack. Fury, Maria and Natasha were sitting at the table with the microchips to stop the helicarrier from firing and Sam and Steve were standing up by the table. Valencia was leaning against the wall and listening to the plan of action.

"Maybe we can salvage what's left-" Fury tried to reason.

"We're not salvaging anything!" Steve said, defiantly, "We're not just taking down the carriers Nick, we're taking down S.H.I.E.L.D."

Valencia's father had an unsure look on his face, "S.H.I.E.L.D. had nothing to do with this!"

"You gave me this mission. This is how it ends. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s been compromised, you said so yourself! HYDRA grew right under your nose and nobody noticed." Steve said.

"Look around you!" Fury exclaimed, "I noticed."

"How many paid the price before you did?" Steve asked, coldly.

Fury sighed, "Look I didn't know about Barnes."

"Even if you had would you have told me? Or would that be compartmentalized too?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D., HYDRA it all goes." Steve demanded, a stern look on his face.

"He's right." Maria chimed in, making Fury's gaze snap to her. He looked at everyone in the room and as his eye met Valencia's she shook her head.

"He's right, dad." The brunette said lowly.

Fury looked over at Sam. "Don't look at me. I do what he does, just slower."

Fury sighed in defeat. "Looks like you're giving the orders now, Captain."

Steve nodded to Fury and began to map out the plan to everyone. "Alright everyone," He said when he was finished, "Get some sleep. We're striking early." As Steve dismissed everyone, Valencia saw him walk toward the bridge.

The bobbed brunette got up to follow him, padding quietly after the super soldier, unaware of the feminine brown eyes following her retreating form.

When she opened the door to the bunker, she saw Steve looking out into the night sky and leaning on the bridge's railing. Valencia quietly walked up to the blonde hero.

"You okay, Cap?" Valencia asked, leaning against the bridge's rail.

Steve said nothing, but just nodded, looking out into the night.

The brunette sighed, "You don't want to talk, that's alright," She said, clearing her throat, "You can just listen to me. I want to call my mother and tell her I love her and how sorry I am that I disobeyed her but I can't because I'm afraid what she'll say. And I haven't called her in a week and she probably thinks I'm dead because she overreacts." Valencia rambled on.

"You should call your mother, Valencia." Steve lightly chided, not looking at her.

Valencia playfully whined, "But Steve!" but it did not get the chuckle out of him she wanted, so it was silent between the two for a few moments more.

Valencia was lost in her thoughts, before a horrible one floated through her mind. The brown girl's eyes widened as she exclaimed, "Holy shit!"

Steve eyes flew to her alarmed, "Watch your language." He muttered, looking at her with wide eyes.

Valencia shook her head and bit her lip nervously, "I've missed a week of classes! I'm going to fail! My history project was due! Oh my God, I'll never graduate in time! My mother's going to kill me when she sees my grade!" Valencia started to hyperventilate.

Steve looked at the short woman oddly and put his hands on her shoulders, "Calm down." He demanded, watching the brunette have a panic attack. "Breath slowly, in and out." He told her, demonstrating to her by breathing slowly in front of her face.

Valencia stared at Steve's pink lips and she tried to control her breathing. As her breathing got under control, she bit her bottom lip and looked up into Steve's eyes, to see him staring at her lips. The blonde hero lifted his hand and cupped the short woman's face, using his thumb to pull her lip out from between her teeth. Valencia let out a ragged breath and leaned up, pressing her lips against Steve's pink ones. After a few moments of Steve not responding to her, Valencia pulled back mortified.

"Oh my God, I totally misread this situation, I'm so sorry."

"Valencia." Steve calmly muttered, gripping the bronze girl's chin between his fingers.

"Yes?" She muttered back.

"I thought you and Sam…" The blonde trailed off, raising his eyebrows to illustrate what he meant.

Valencia shook her head furiously, "No, we're just friends. I-" The brunette was cut off by Steve pressing his lips against hers, and Valencia wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on the tips of her toes to reciprocate the kiss. The blonde hero wrapped his arms around Valencia's waist pulling her closer to him. After a moment, Valencia dipped her tongue in Steve's mouth, causing the hero's eyes to open and widen as her tongue explored his mouth. He held back a moan as her tongue played with his, and he tried to duplicate her actions unsurely. When Valencia pulled back, she lightly bit his lip, looking up at him.

The two just stared at each other for a few minutes, smiles beginning to grow on their faces.

"So," Valencia said, after a moment, "How long has it been since you 'necked' with someone?"

"Necked? You say necked?" Steve said chuckling, "I thought that was old."

Valencia snorted, "It is, but my mom's husband's vocabulary is mostly made up of slang terms from the 1940's and on."

"Well I'll have to meet him then." Steve muttered, holding Valencia closed to him.

"You'd two get along," The brunette said, grinning up at him, "You both like to tell me what to do."

"I don't-" Steve started to defend himself but Valencia interrupted him.

"It's okay, Steve," She said, leaning up to his lips again, "I like when you tell me what to do." She mumbled softly against his lips, making his blue eyes widen and he leaned down to kiss her again.

"We should probably go back." Steve muttered, making Valencia groan.

"You're right." She eventually said, letting her arms drop from around Steve.

"I know." Steve cheekily said as the two walked back to the bunker.

Valencia snorted and wrapped her arms around Steve's arm, pressing her cheek against his massive bicep. "Shut up, jerk." She said grinning as Steve moved his arm to rest around her shoulders.

Steve opened the door of the bunker for Valencia, allowing her to walk in before him and closed the door behind him.

"Where have you two been?" Maria asked, seated at the table where they had met a few hours prior.

"Just talking." Valencia replied simply, smiling at the brunette older woman.

Maria's eyes moved from the bronze short woman to the blonde hero and raised a questioning brow, making the tall man's cheek tinge pink.

"You're a good liar." She said, her eyes back on Valencia, "But Cap gives it away."

Valencia's eye's widened, "Don't tell my dad." She said quickly, walking away from the two.

"I won't." Maria called after her, looking at a sputtering Steve.

He quietly cleared his throat and walked to his room in the bunker.

Valencia walked into her room in the bunker to see a leather catsuit laid out on the cot. "What's this?" She asked the redhead in the bed across from her.

"Your uniform for tomorrow, weapons are in the artillery. Why do you have that look on your face?" Natasha asked, catching Valencia off guard.

"What are you talking about?" The brunette woman covered, folding her uniform up and placing it on the stand beside her mat.

Natasha got up from her cot and stopped Valencia's hands, looking her in her eyes before smirking. "What did you do?"

Valencia scoffed and shook away from Natasha hold, sitting on her cot and taking her tennis shoes off.

"Oh come on! Aren't we friends?" Natasha asked, sitting on Valencia's cot beside her and slinging her arm around the bronze girl.

Valencia looked at Natasha boredly, "Really? What makes you think there's something?"

"Your lips are red, and not just your bottom lip like it usually is, your pupils are dilated, your muscles are tense and your hands are shaking. So, I'll ask you again, what did you do?"

Valencia licked her lips and looked away from the redhead, smiling.

Natasha's eyes widened and she jumped up from the cot, "You kissed Steve!" She whispered, slapping Valencia on her arm.

Valencia turned to Natasha and bit her lips to keep from smiling, "You're crazy." The brunette said shrugging her friend off, and sliding her jeans off her legs.

"How was it? Did you use tongue? Because when I kissed him..." Natasha nonchalantly trailed off, examining her fingernails.

Valencia's head whipped around to Natasha. "You two kissed? When?"

Natasha glanced up at Valencia, "Why do you care, if you two haven't kissed…"

The brunette groaned and sat next to Natasha on the cot. "Yes we kissed, yes there was tongue. Now when the fuck did you two kiss?"

Natasha laughed, "It was a few days ago, just to avoid a Hydra agent that was on our trail. It meant nothing." The redhead got up from the cot and went to her own, laying down and turning away from her brunette friend. "Night, Val."

Valencia glared at her and settled into her own cot, saying a quiet prayer for tomorrow.


	12. First Mission

Valencia let out a sigh as she pulled the zipper up to her black leather catsuit. She was alone in her room in the bunker, Natasha had left earlier that morning, and it was eerily silent. A million thoughts were running through her head, but not a whisper came out of her mouth as she fastened her utility belt around her waist and laced up her black boots, placing her lucky nail file in the side of her boot. Taking a rubber band out of the pocket of her forgotten jeans, she tied her hair out of her face in a high ponytail, leaving out her two signature strands in front of her ears. After she was finally finished with her appearance she walked down the quiet hallway of the bunker to the artillery room. The brunette grabbed two handguns, placing them on the sides of her hips and filled her utility belt with ammo and pocket knives. Checking the time on her watch, Valencia walked out of the artillery room and into the main room, where Maria Hill was going over maps of the helicarriers.

"Hey Baby." Maria greeted, not looking up from the tablet in her hand.

"Hey Maria," Valencia nodded to the older woman, "Do you have a phone I could use?"

Maria glanced up at Valencia briefly, before handing the younger girl a cell phone. "Who are you calling?"

Valencia took the phone from Maria, "My mother." She answered simply, walking down the hallway for privacy. She dialled her mother's number and bit her lip, listening to the phone ring.

"Smith-Cragen?" Her mother's voice answered.

Valencia leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, "Hey Momma."

"Valencia Renee! Are you serious? I haven't heard from you in, well shit! It's been at least two weeks! I'm surprised you can still talk, because someone must have murdered you and ripped out your vocal chords for you not to have called me!"

The brunette bit her lip and let out a quiet chuckle. "I'm sorry Ma, but I was a little busy."

A loud gasp came from the other line, "Doing what? And you better say school work, Lena!"

"Momma don't be mad…" Valencia trailed off.

"Valencia don't play with me! What's going on? Are you alright? Do I need to come up there and kick some asses?"

"No Momma, but I…" Valencia tried to come up with the words, but they wouldn't come out.

"What?" Her mother exclaimed into the phone, "What is it baby?"

"Mom, I love you. I just want you to know that I love you. And I'm absolutely out of my mind to do what I'm about to do...But I just want you to know that I love you." She paused, waiting for her mother to respond.

It was quiet on the other line. "...Are you pregnant?"

Valencia's eyes widened, "Mother are you serious? No, I'm not fucking pregnant! Jesus Christ!" She whispered furiously in the phone.

"Watch your mouth!" Her mother immediately said.

"Why do you and Dad always say that? I mean both of you curse like sailors, so of course your damn kid is going to!" Valencia exclaimed.

"Lena," Her mother said softly, "You know Daniel doesn't curse…"

Valencia's eyes widened in realization and she almost dropped the phone.

"Valencia?" Her mother's voice called out from the phone. "Valencia?"

The bronze woman bit her lip and slumped to the ground, bringing her legs up to her chest. She closed her eyes and let out ragged breaths before picking the phone up. "Yes?" She muttered.

"What phone are you calling me from?" Her mother asked, in an even voice.

Valencia opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by Sam and Steve walking down the hallway.

"It's time." Steve said to her, decked out in his Captain America uniform and shield.

She nodded to him and her mother asked, "Who was that, Valencia?"

"I have to go. I love you Mom." Valencia said, hanging up the phone. She sat on the floor for a moment, composing herself, before she got up and walked into the main room, handing the phone back to Maria, thanking her softly.

"Who was that, Valencia?" Her father asked, he was seated at the table with Maria.

She shook her head and slightly smiled, "No one. Are we ready?" She directed toward Steve, who was watching her with concerned eyes.

The blonde hero studied her face before nodding at her. "We're going to head out."

Maria got up from the table and Valencia walked over to her father, bending down and hugging him.

"Be careful, little Fury." He said in her ear, before letting her go. Valencia nodded to him and followed behind Sam and Steve. Before the brunette walked through the door, she looked back for Maria and saw the older brunette bent over, kissing her father. The bronze woman's eyes widened before she hurriedly walked out the door of the bunker. She caught up with Sam and Steve, who were walking towards the helicopter that was going to get them close to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. She walked next to Steve and chuckled to herself when she saw he was wearing his old uniform from the museum. The three climbed in the helicopter, and after a moment, Maria joined them.

"I won't tell if you won't." Maria muttered, as she passed the young brunette to sit next to the pilot. Valencia strapped herself in with wide eyes, as Maria put on her headset. "Give this to Valencia." Maria said to Steve, passing him a earpiece for the young woman to put on. Steve gave it to Valencia, and she quickly fastened it into her ear. As the two other men strapped in, the pilot began lift the helicopter off the ground.

"Ever been in one of these?" Sam questioned Valencia with a grin.

Valencia smiled and shook her head. "Nope, first time."

"Hope you're not afraid of heights!" He quipped, laughing as they started to ascended higher in the sky.

"Says the guy who threw me off of a building!" The brunette replied, rolling her eyes at Sam's remark.

"I was with you!" The mahogany man defended.

"Like that was comforting!" Valencia yelled back.

"Settle down you two." Steve warned in his 'Captain' voice.

"Okay, Dad!" Valencia remarked, making Steve stare hardly at her, but the brunette just grinned.

"Approaching our landing location guys. Brace yourselves." Maria said into the headset, as the helicopter started to descend.

"Uh...we're coming in a little fast aren't we?" Valencia muttered, jumping and clinging to Steve when the helicopter hit a slight bump. Steve's arms wrapped around her as she clung to him.

"Sorry Baby." Maria called from the front.

"Don't be sorry just don't kill me please." The brunette mumbled, her brown eyes closed tightly. She bit her lip and clung to the blonde hero tighter, her eyes closed.

"We've landed, Valencia." Steve said, patting the short woman on her back, holding in a laugh.

Valencia opened a brown eye and looked around, before clearing her throat and letting go of Steve. She glared at a snickering Sam and go out the helicopter as gracefully as she could.

Maria gave Valencia a knowing look, once Valencia's feet had touched the ground.

"Oh shut up." The short brunette grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

Once Sam and Steve were off the helicopter, it took flight once again, headed back to the bunker. The four then walked to the control room, guns in hand. As Maria scrambled the signals to the control room, Steve put on his helmet, completing his uniform.

"The star spangled man with a plan." Valencia lowly sung, grinning as Steve caught her eye. "Cute." He remarked and she smiled brightly back at him.

The four moved to the control room just as a lanky worker was coming out. "Excuse us." Steve nodded toward the man and the man put his hands up in surrender, moving aside and letting the four in.

Valencia stayed at the door, ready to shoot if someone walked in, while Maria went to the computers. Sam stood beside the window, watching to see if people were coming, and Steve went to the intercom system. The blonde hero gave a heartwarming and endearing speech, warning everyone at S.H.I.E.L.D. that HYDRA had infiltrated it. He ended his speech with, "I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high, it always had been. It's a price I'm willing to pay...If I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not."

Valencia beamed proudly at Steve, her heart swelling at his words. His speech made her proud to be standing in the line of fire with him.

"Did you write that down first?" Sam asked, grinning, "Or was it of the top of your head?"

Steve breathed out a laugh and Valencia snorted, making Sam chuckle at her. Their laughter was cut short, when an alarm started going off. Valencia ran to the window and saw the helicarriers rising up from the water that surrounded the building.

"They're launching the helicarriers!" She told Steve, frantically.

Sam put on his flying goggles, "Looks like we're up, Cap." He said, ready to fight.

The blonde hero nodded to him. "Valencia, Maria. You two know what to do?" The brunette women nodded at him. "Good." He affirmed.

"Wait!" Valencia said, before Sam and Steve had a chance to walk out. She ran up to Sam and wrapped her slim arms around him. "Be careful." She said into the mahogany man's ear. He smiled his pretty smile at her and nodded, saying "I always am." She smiled up at him and let him go then turned around to face Steve. Softly pulling his helmet over his head, the short brunette quickly wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tighter than she hugged her friend. She pulled back slightly and looked into Steve's blue eyes, saying nothing as always, but her eyes telling the blonde hero everything she couldn't. He nodded to her and smiled leaning down and brushing his lips against her forehead. Valencia smiled prettily and gently put Steve's helmet back on.

"Go get 'em Cap." The brunette said, winking.

He nodded to her with a smile and he and Sam were gone.

Valencia watched the door for a moment, biting her lip, before she turned back to Maria and took a seat next to her and began to do her appointed job.

"Hey Cap!" Valencia heard Sam say through her headset as she typed furiously. "I found those bad guys you were talking about!" Valencia heard gunshots through the set.

"You okay?" Steve replied. "I'm not dead yet!"

"Okay, let's keep it that way." Valencia muttered, causing Sam to let out a breathy laugh. "Will do, just for you, Val."

Valencia grinned, but it faltered as banging was heard outside the door. Maria moved to get up but Valencia shook her head.

"I got this one, Maria, you stay on the monitor." The brunette said, as she walked to the door of the control room with a gun in her hand. "When I knock three times, let me back in." She told Maria, quickly opening the door and shooting, making sure the door closed behind her.

There were two men in black uniforms that had come to the control room door and they both had guns in their hands, which were currently pointed at Valencia. The brunette's eyes jumped from one man to the other, before she quickly fired a shot a one of the man's hands, making him drop his gun. As the other man squeezed the trigger of his gun, Valencia ducked down and shot them both in their feet, making both of men fall down. The brunette grabbed the man's fallen gun and aimed, shooting both of the men in their heads. She grabbed the other gun and knocked on the door three times, alerting Maria that she was finished.

Maria opened the door, her gun pointed at Valencia, until she saw it was her, then she let the young woman back into the control room.

"Good job, that was quick." Maria noted, taking her seat back in front of the monitor.

Valencia just shrugged, dropping the guns on the floor before returning to her seat next to Maria.

"Alpha lock." Steve said, from his place on one of the helicarriers, and the said helicarrier light up on the screen indicating that it was locked.

"Falcon? Where are you now?" Maria asked, furiously typing.

"I had to take a detour!" Sam yelled, the sound of bullets flying from his headset.

Valencia got up and ran to the window, seeing a jet flying after Sam, around a helicarrier. The brunette watched with wide eyes as the jet fired rounds off at the mahogany man, but he and the jet disappeared under a helicarrier. "Sam?" She asked, worried. It was silent for a moment but then the man flew out from under the helicarrier, the jet following him gone.

He let out a celebratory holler, before landing in the helicarrier. "Bravo, locked!" He said before flying off the helicarrier.

Valencia shook her head with a smile and walked back to the monitor.

"One left, Steve." The short brunette said into the headset, then furrowed her manicured brows at the sound of a helicopter. "What is that?" She asked Maria.

Maria just smiled at her, "Your dad's here." Her face then became serious, "Charlie carrier's 45 degrees off the port bow." She said into the headset.

Valencia looked up at the screen, seeing two men with assault rifles opening the door to the control room. The brunette picked up one of the handguns and leisurely rolled out from the desk, shooting both of the men in the head.

"Nice shot, Baby." Maria acknowledged, still typing. "Six minutes."

"Sam, gonna need a ride!" Valencia heard Steve say in the headset and she walked over to the window to watch the two. Steve was on one of the helicarriers fighting.

"Let me know when you're ready." Sam said, flying around the helicarrier.

Valencia watched Steve jump off the helicarrier with wide eyes.

"I just did!" He cheekily answered.

"Did you just jump off a fucking helicarrier?" Valencia exclaimed in her headset.

"Watch your mouth!" Steve chided, groaning as Sam caught him by the arm.

"Settle down you two!" Sam playfully added through gritted teeth as he dropped Steve on the third helicarrier. When he landed on the second, one of his wings was ripped off by the metal man, making Valencia gasp as the man through Sam off the helicarrier.

"Sam!" She exclaimed, when she could no longer see him.

"I'm fine, Val." He reassured her. "Cap, Cap come in. Are you okay?"

"I'm here! Still on the helicarrier. Where are you?" The blonde hero asked.

"I'm grounded. The suit's down. Sorry Cap."

"Don't worry I got it." Steve reassured.

Valencia sat back down at the monitor with Maria. After a few moments of the third helicarrier not being locked, the brunette called for Steve, as time was running out.

"One minute!" She exclaimed persistently into her headset. She looked at Maria nervously and the usually demure brunette matched the young woman's expression.

"Charlie…" Came from their headsets, after a minute, followed by heavy breathing, "Charlie…" He tried again, but a gunshot interrupted him.

"Steve?" Valencia questioned, alarmed.

All that answered her was harbored breathing.

"Steve?" She tried again, tears coming to her eyes.

"Less than thirty seconds, Cap!" Maria urged.

Valencia's eyes widened as she watched the timer countdown. "Five," She muttered a tear streaking down her cheek. "Four, three, two…"

She was interrupted by a grunt, "Charlie….locked."

Valencia bit her lip and locked up with wide eyes. "He did it." She whispered and watched as Maria quickly typed.

"Okay, Cap, get outta there." Maria said to Steve through the headset as she aligned the helicarriers to take each other down. Valencia got up and looked out the window, chewing furiously on her bottom lip.

"Fire now." Steve's voice came softly through the headset.

"No…" Valencia muttered, turning to Maria.

"Do it now!" He demanded.

"Maria don't!" Valencia exclaimed, but it was too late. The brunette could only watch with teary eyes as the helicarriers destroyed each other. She put a hand over her mouth and let out a sob, throwing her headset away from her. Maria wrapped her arms around the young girl as she cried, both of them softly falling to the ground.

"Hill? Where's Steve? You got a location on Rogers?" Natasha asked through Maria's headset.

"Negative." The brunette answered softly, stroking Valencia's back soothingly.

"He's so fucking noble." Valencia muttered, "Why does he always have to be the hero?" She smiled weakly at Maria.

"That's what Cap does. He's sickeningly patriotic." Maria said, smiling softly at the girl.

Valencia nodded and wiped her eyes, "I suppose you're right. He's probably fine..." The young brunette sniffed and stood up, holding her hand out for Maria. Maria nodded and took her hand, standing next to the short brunette.

The sound of a helicopter could be heard outside the control room.

"Come on then," Maria said, pulling Valencia toward the door, "Our rides here."

Valencia nodded at the woman and walked out the control room. The two walked to the helicopter that had landed on the roof and Maria helped Valencia get in, before getting in herself and shutting the door. As soon as Valencia was in the helicopter she flung her arms around Sam.

"You're safe!" The brunette exclaimed and the mahogany man grinned.

"Of course! I told you I would be didn't I?" Sam retorted, raising an eyebrow.

Valencia nodded and smiled sadly, "You did, Samuel. And Nat, I see you're alive, as well."

Natasha nodded to her with a smirk, "I wouldn't let some power hungry senile old man kill me."

Valencia laughed and looked to the front of the helicopter where her dad was sitting. She cautiously walked to the front and sat next to him, smiling.

"Hey Dad." She greeted and he nodded to her.

"Hey kid." He replied with a smirk. "Good job out there."

Valencia beamed at her father's compliments. "Just following in your footsteps, old man."

Nick chuckled in return and the flight back to the bunker was silent.


	13. Where is He?

(A/N: There is three chapter's left in this story :( But do not fret because this is the first in a series about little Valencia Fury, and the next installment will start as soon as the last chapter is posted! So please look out for that!)

Valencia let out a puff of breath as she sat in the underground bunker with Natasha, Sam, Maria and her father. They were waiting for the call from the team that was dispatched to find Steve in the Potomac. Everyone was silent, and seemingly holding their breath, for it had been three hours since they had stopped the helicarriers and taken down HYDRA and there was still no sign of Captain Rogers. Valencia had long changed out of her blood stained catsuit and was now in a pair of jean shorts and a plain black t-shirt. The silence of the room seemed louder than it would have been if everyone was talking, and it was starting to get to her.

Finally feeling like the silence was too much she got up from her seat against the wall, making everyone's eyes go to her. "I'm going to get some air." The brunette simply said, walking out the door of the bunker and onto the bridge, where just a day before she and Steve had kissed for the first time. She walked to the middle of the bridge and put her hands on the rail, leaning forward and looking over the railing. She took a deep breath of air and raggedly let it out, biting her lip in frustration.

Steve had to be okay...He was Captain America for God's sake. A super soldier, a superhero, America's beacon of hope and all that's right. But he was also Steve Rogers. A blonde haired, blue eyed, sweetheart who ate cannolis in cafes, who liked fudge on his ice cream, whose eyes crinkled in the corners when he smiled, who kissed her on her forehead and made her feel safe...The man was missing. To everyone else he was Captain Rogers, but to her...to her he was Steve.

"You alright?" A voice rang to the side of the brunette, making her head whip around to the side of her. It was Sam, staring at her with a worried look in his brown eyes.

Valencia licked her bottom lip and nodded, giving the man a small, fake smile. "I'm fine."

Sam gave her a solemn grin and patted her on her back. "Now Val, it's me. You can't lie to old Sam." Valencia's mouth twitched in response, a smile trying to breakthrough, making Sam's grin widen.

"I'm just worried…" The short woman trailed off, before shaking her head, "I mean, not that I have a reason to be, he's probably fine. Well there's no 'probably' in it. He's fine. Steve is fine." She rambled.

Sam watched the woman ramble, a sad smile on his face. Sam knew, from the moment in the back of the van that he had witnessed between the two, he knew that Valencia and Steve cared for each other. It hurt, of course, it hurt him badly. From the moment he laid eyes on Valencia reading in the park on a hot day, he was smitten and when she opened her pretty full lips and mocked him his knees got weak. Her white smile, the way she bit her bottom lip, her snorting laugh, the way she looked up at him through her long lashes, everything about her he liked. But she wasn't for him, she couldn't be for him, not with the way she looked at Steve… At that moment in the van, he decided that he would be Valencia's friend, damn, her best friend and only hope to find someone that looked at him the way Valencia looked at Steve.

"Do you love him?" Sam questioned suddenly, interrupting the bobbed brunettes rambling.

Valencia's eyebrows furrowed, "How'd you-"

Sam leaned his back against the railing, crossing his arms across his chest and smiling at the short woman. "I've seen the way you two look at each other."

"I'm sorry." The brunette muttered, not looking at the man beside her.

Sam shook his head. "There's nothing to be sorry about, Valencia. We're friends remember?"

"But you," She paused searching for the words and biting her lip.

"I can't compete with Steve." Sam said simply, rubbing his hand over his chin.

Valencia's head whipped to Sam, an incredulous look on her face. "Don't say that!" She exclaimed, making Sam turn to her surprised.

"It's true, Valencia." Sam replied seriously, uncrossing his arms.

"No it fucking isn't." Valencia said, now standing in front of Sam, her eyes took in the expression on his face and she took a deep breath. "Look, I don't love Steve. It's too soon to say any of that. But I do feel something for him."

Sam nodded, looking into the short woman's eyes, "More than you care for me."

Valencia sighed and shook her head. "But that doesn't mean that I don't care for you, Sam. You were my first friend here...You cheered me up when my father 'died'. You're so sweet Sam…" She paused, her eyes now watering. "I...I didn't have any friends in DC before I met you. I was too focused on school and graduating early to properly speak to anyone, and no one ever came up to me. But you, Sam Wilson, you did, even if it was to hit on me and drink all my water. And I want to thank you for that Sam, I'm really grateful, I am. But what I feel for Steve...is different than what I feel for you. Don't think I don't care about you at all, Sam, because that's not true." Valencia finally finished, taking a deep breath of air. "You understand what I mean...don't you?"

Sam was quiet, for once, his eyes now downcast.

The short brunette studied his face, worried that she had just lost the best friend that she had. She chewed on her lip anxiously.

"Sam?" She questioned, trying to get him to look at her, when he wouldn't she wrapped her arms around his middle, embracing the mahogany man tightly.

"When I want you to talk, you won't but when I want you to shut up, you can't keep your mouth shut." The brunette muttered into Sam's neck. She felt his body tremble a little, a sign that he wanted to laugh. A moment later, Valencia felt muscular arms wrapping around her.

"I can deal with friends." He mumbled into her hair, and a grin spread along her face.

The brunette pulled back from their hug and hit her friend in the chest making him emit a loud 'ow!'. "I fucking hate you Sam! I was so worried you weren't going to be my friend anymore, you jerk!" She attenuated the last word with another hit to his chest.

Sam laughed and grabbed her hands, "I had to see you sweat a little! Nice speech by the way."

Valencia sucked her teeth at him. "That was from the heart, you jackass."

"Oh believe me, I felt the love." He grinned at her and pulled the short woman into another hug. "You're amazing, Val. Seriously."

Valencia patted Sam on the back and giggled. "Yeah okay, thanks. Can you let me go? You're killing me."

"Not on your life, Fury!" Sam exclaimed, ruffling her hair.

"Am I interrupting?" Natasha's voice sounded from the side of them.

"Nat, help! He's killing me with his B.O.!" Valencia yelled, making Natasha chuckle.

"Okay kids, break it up." The redhead joked, walking over to the two.

Sam let go of Valencia and the brunette jokingly took a deep breath of air.

"What's up, Nat? Did they find him?" Valencia asked, her face now serious.

The smirk on Natasha's face fell, and she shook her head. "Fury wants you."

Valencia bit her lip and nodded to woman, looking back at Sam.

"Good talk." He said, nodding to her with a grin.

The young woman snorted and nodded back to him, following Natasha back into the bunker. Making their way to the main room in the bunker, not a word was said between them and it was silent through the halls. When they had reached where Valencia's father was seated, she saw that Maria was gone and her father sat at the table, alone.

He looked up from the table, "Thank you Natasha. Have a seat, Valencia."

Valencia sat down by her father and Natasha left the two Furys.

"What's going on, Dad?" Valencia asked after a moment of silence. Her eyes widened, "Is Steve dead?"

Nick shook his head and frowned at his daughter. "No, why would you think that?"

The brunette just shrugged and bit her lip. "What is this about?"

Her father sat back in his chair, "Valencia, you did a really good job today, and Hill told me that you went against two armed men and didn't get a speck of blood on you."

Valencia furrowed her brows, "Yeah…" She answered, "What does that have to do with this?"

"Valencia I'm going away for a while." He simply said.

"Again?" She huffed in response, frown etched on her face.

Nick Fury got up from his chair, and began to walk around the room, a thoughtful look present on his face. "Everyone thinks I'm dead, and for the time being, that's the way I want to keep it. After they find Cap, I'm going to a location in Europe to figure out some things and regroup."

Valencia raised her eyebrows, "Yeah?"

"Valencia," Nick paused, stopping in front of her and looking into her eyes. "I want you to come with me."

The young woman pursed her lips, her thoughts running wild.

Did she want to go spend time with her father? Of course, and for him to even ask her if she wanted to go with him is a sign that he wants to spend time with her too. The little time that they did spend together had showed her that she was more like him than she knew and she would love to talk to him more and learn what he knows about the world. But there was a part of her that knew she could not go with him. She had a life here and even though she was Valencia Fury, daughter of one of the most world renowned spies, she was also Valencia Smith, a normal, twenty year old, college student.

"Dad…" Valencia sighed, "I love that you want me to be with you, but I can't."

Nick frowned, sitting down once again in the chair in front of Valencia. "Why not?" He gruffly asked.

His daughter just shook her head, "I can't go with you because I have to stay here with my mother."

"Birdie? What does she have to do with this?"

Valencia sighed, "She's my mother. I can't just up and leave her! Especially now that I know about you...I have to stay with her, and keep her strong…" She bit her lip, "I...had this idea last night, and I think I'll actually go through with it." She paused, taking a breath. "After Steve is found, I'm going to go back to Virginia with my Mom. I have to tell her that I found you, and I think after all that has happened in the last month, I need a break. From this, from school, from everything."

Nick studied his daughter's face, still deeply frowning. After a moment of silence passed between the two, he nodded. "I suppose you're right. You should be there with your mother. You are very mature for your age, Lena. I could have saved myself a lot of headache if I had the wisdom you have at twenty."

"I'm glad you understand, Dad." Valencia smiled, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around her father.

Nick smirked and embraced his only child tightly, trying to push the thought of being away from her in the back of his head. Though the two had just met, she was his kid and he wanted to make up for lost time. The gift of a child had been stolen from him, through no fault of his own. He did not blame Rebecca for what she did, he understood the danger the two of them faced, but he could not help but feel bitter.

All of his life he had felt that he had missed out on having a family… The closest he ever came to having a significant other was Birdie and when she left without a trace, he was left with a hole in his heart, a hole that he filled with work. Come to think of it, if Birdie hadn't left him, he probably would not have been able to be Director of S.H.I.E.L.D… In all honesty, Nick would have given up his position for Birdie and Valencia a thousand times over, if it meant that he could have them in his life.

Nick patted his daughter on her back and pulled away from their embrace. "I'll get Maria to take you home."

Valencia furrowed her brows, "But what about-"

The patched man interrupted her, "I'll call you when we find Cap. You need to get some rest."

Valencia sighed and nodded, a yawn escaping from her mouth. Her dad was right she did need some sleep and she could start packing for her trip home.

Maria came into the room a few minutes later. "The car is ready, Valencia." The older brunette said, nodding to Nick.

The young woman looked between the two with a raised brow.

"What?" Her father questioned, noticing his daughter's look.

Valencia looked to Maria, who had cleared her throat and was staring at the young woman with pursed lips. The older brunette's eyes were daring her to say something, but Valencia just shook her head.

"Nothing." She replied simply and stood up. "I'll see you later, Dad."

Nick eyes flashed to Maria, then to his daughter. "Goodbye little Fury."


	14. Goodbye

(A/N: Two chapters left babes. I cried writing this one btw haha)

The young brunette woman sat on the floor of her now bare apartment and took a swig of water from her bottle. Her brunette bob was tied back from her face with a black bandana and she was wearing a white tank top with black leggings, black running Nikes on her feet. She took a look around the room, disheartened, and sighed. This place had been her home for two years, and now she was leaving. She knew that the decision she had made a week ago had been the right one, otherwise she would not have packed her whole life into numerous boxes, but she couldn't help but feel sad about leaving.

Valencia had reason to leave, she had missed about two weeks worth of classes and a major project for her History class, which was awful considering she was a straight A student and the only reason she was in DC was to get her business degree. She also felt like if she had stayed in DC, she would not be safe, for the simple fact that all of S.H.I.E.L.D's information was out and there was a possibility of someone coming after her because she was Nick Fury's daughter. In addition to her being Nick Fury's daughter, she had participated in the plot to dismantle S.H.I.E.L.D, so her face might have been seen on the news for the next few months. Laying low was the best possible option for her, not going with her dad to Europe. What if someone found the both of them and killed them? She would be better staying with her retired agent mom and unsuspecting stepfather.

The moving van her father had rented for her would be there in a few minutes, so Valencia got up from her place on the ground to do a final sweep of her apartment. She checked her empty closet, she checked her bathroom and her cabinet, she checked her kitchen and saw it was bare, smiling slightly as the memory of her serving Steve a sundae floated into her mind.

Valencia had so many memories of this place. The memory of her moving in, when her mom nearly had a panic attack when she saw how small the apartment was; Daniel had to convince her to let Valencia stay. The memory of her getting a puppy her first year there and having to give it away because it chewed up all her shoes and shit everywhere. The memory of a burglar trying to break into her home and getting their arm broken and flipped on to their back by a five foot three young girl. So many great memories, and Valencia was leaving them behind.

A knock on her door brought her out of her thoughts, she hopped off her counter to answer the door. She opened the door to reveal Maria in a pencil skirt and blouse, with two men behind her.

"Hey Baby, the truck's ready." Maria greeted, stepping into the apartment, the men followed in after her and began to take down boxes.

"You hate it, don't you?" Valencia asked with a snort, watching Maria's eyes go over every detail of her apartment, pensively.

Maria pursed her lips, "Of course not, Val, it's...cute." The brunette said, walking around the room. She swiped a finger on the counter and saw dust, she wiped it on a hanging curtain and continued, "Very...eclectic."

Valencia let out a loud, barking laugh and shook her head, taking a seat on the counter. "So what's up, Mari? How's Dad?"

Maria leaned against the opposite wall with her arms crossed. "Your father sends his regards, he's currently flying to a secure building somewhere in Europe."

Valencia raised her eyebrows, "You're not going with him?" She questioned.

Maria shook her head, a frown on her face, "It would not be the sensible thing to do. I have to stay here and put the pieces together."

"You're staying in DC?" The younger woman asked.

Maria shook her head once again. "No, I'm going to New York to work at Stark Industries."

Valencia's eyes widened, "Stark Industries? As in Tony Stark? As in Iron Man?"

Maria nodded chuckling, "Yes, the one and the same."

"That's so cool!" The young woman exclaimed, "Why are you working with him?"

"It's for the Avengers." The older woman said, shrugging nonchalantly. "The main Stark building in New York is now the Avenger's building, so I will have better access to everyone from there."

"That's amazing, Mari! I'm really happy for you!" Valencia grinned, but her smile faltered. "Did you hear anything about Steve?"

Maria pursed her lips and nodded, "Cap's at George Mason. You haven't been by yet?"

Valencia shook her head. "Is he awake?" She asked, biting her lip nervously.

"No, he's still out." The older woman walked over to Valencia, the apartment now empty and bare except for a duffle bag Valencia had packed for her trip. Maria put her hand on Valencia's knee and the motherly gesture shocking the young woman. "You should go see him before you leave today, Valencia."

The bobbed brunette looked into the older woman's eyes nervously. "I don't know if I have the time…"

Maria reached into her purse and pulled out a train ticket, handing it to Valencia. "Your train leaves at four. It's two fifteen now, I arranged for a driver to take you to the train station. Take a little detour to the hospital before you go."

Valencia stared down at the ticket silently before wrapping her arms around Maria. "Thank you." She muttered, clutching the woman tight.

The normally straight faced woman smiled into Valencia's hair and patted her on the back. "My pleasure, Valencia." She pulled back from the hug and smiled softly at the young woman cupping a hand on her bronze cheek. "It's time for me to go, but if you need anything, and I mean anything, don't hesitate to call me." She said seriously then joked, "I've been giving orders to treat you like my own daughter."

Valencia grinned and hugged her again, this time as a farewell. "Bye Mommy Maria." She quipped, jumping down from the counter and walking the woman to the door.

Maria rolled her eyes but laughed, "Bye Baby Fury." She said kissing the short woman on her cheek. "Be good."

Valencia just snorted and closed the door behind her. Turning around, the brunette studied her empty apartment with a sad smile. She picked up her duffle bag and walked to the door, looking back one last time, before she left her second home for the last time.

As the tinted black SUV pulled up to George Mason, Valencia chewed on her lip nervously. She was nervous about seeing Steve, but she could not pinpoint the reason why. Was it because she was leaving? Was it because they had kissed a week before? Was it because they had not seen each other since he walked out of the control room? Why was she so nervous?

A person clearing their throat brought Valencia out her thoughts. She looked up and saw that her driver had opened the door for her.

"Sorry." She said sheepishly, getting out the car.

"No problem Miss Fury." The man answered her.

Valencia, a little shocked that he called her that, just nodded to him. Walking up the steps of the hospital. She paused and looked back at the man.

"You wouldn't happen to know the room he's in, would you?"

The man gave her a friendly smile, "Level 5, room 543."

Valencia gratefully thanked him and continued into the hospital.

In the elevator, Valencia looked at her reflection. She hurriedly removed her bandana and tried to fluff her hair. She pulled up her leggings to cover her stomach, and tried to tug her tank top lower to look more modest. Folding her bandana into a straight line, she wrapped it around her head again as a headband, and tied it in a bow in the back of her head. When the doors opened to the fifth level, Valencia stepped out, feeling better about her appearance.

She walked to the receptionist desk and asked for directions. Once she was pointed in the right direction, the brunette began her trek to the room. Her footsteps seem to echo throughout the hallway and with every step she took her nervousness began to build up. Armed guards were patrolling the hallways, dressed in combat gear and when she reached Steve's room, there was a guard standing in front of his door.

"May I go in?" She questioned the guard, looking through the shaded window.

The guard nodded to her, "Of course, Miss Fury." He said, stepping aside.

Valencia took a deep breath before biting her lip and slowly opening the door to the room. Soft music was playing, as she walked in she saw Steve laying in the hospital bed. He had bruises and cuts on his face, and wires were all around him. Instead of the usually clean shaven look he sported, he had stubble on his face and a long cut on his lip. Stitches ran from his lip up his left cheek, and on the right side of his face was a huge bruise. His usually neat, combed hair was mussed and messy, he didn't look like the Steve Rogers she knew.

Valencia looked at Steve with watery eyes, her nostrils flared. Her bottom lip quivered as she held back a sob.

"Hey Val." Sam greeted softly, from the side of the bed.

Valencia thickly swallowed and nodded to Sam in a greeting. She turned back to Steve and walked over to his hospital bed, carefully sitting on the edge of it and leaning over him. She brought a hand up and caressed his stitched cheek, a tear running down her own. The young woman stared at her hero for a few minutes quietly, her brown eyes taking in all of his features. He was breathing softly, almost peacefully like he was dreaming, but his eyes didn't flutter. His mouth was slightly open, taking in air, and Valencia softly ran her fingers over his lips. She softly traced over his cheekbones, his eyes, and every bruise left on his face. Taking a deep breath, she got up from the bed and faced Sam.

"I'm leaving." She muttered softly, watching Sam's face. He was bruised too, and had cuts on his cheeks, and a busted lip.

Sam looked up at Valencia's surprised. "What do you mean you're leaving?" He asked softly.

Valencia stood closely before Sam, looking down at him. "I...I can't stay. It's not safe." She explained to him, though it sounded like she was trying to convince herself. Her eyes began to water again, but this time, more tears rained down her cheeks.

"Where are you going to go?" Her friend questioned, after a moment.

"Home." She simply said, sniffling. "I came here to say goodbye. But…" She looked back at Steve in his hospital bed before continuing, "I want to say thank you." She turned back to Sam, biting her lip to stop it from quivering.

Sam shook his head, tears beginning to line his eyes. He swallowed thickly, "For what?"

"For being my friend." Valencia softly muttered, hugging Sam from her standing position.

Sam wrapped his arms around the short woman's middle, his head rested on her stomach. "That's not something you really thank people for, Val." He sadly joked, holding her tighter to him. He felt her solemnly giggle, her stomach twitching.

Valencia pressed her lips to the top of Sam's head. "I know. But I have to go Sam." Her voice cracked, "It's the mature choice to make and I have to make sure my mom is alright."

Sam nodded into her stomach. "But who's going to be the center of my affection?"

Valencia chuckled, pressing her cheek to his head. "You'll find some unlucky soul."

It was quiet between them for a few minutes, the two friend just clutching each other.

"I'm going to miss you, Val." Sam said seriously.

"I'mma miss you too, Sam." Valencia replied, her voice cracking. She pulled back from their hug and looked down at Sam with a soft smile. "But this isn't goodbye. It's 'see you later'."

Sam nodded to her, a frown etched on his face. "What are you going to tell Cap?"

Valencia bit her lip, she shook her head, "I didn't think about that part…" She whispered, eyes wide. "Well I mean I did think about it...but I don't know what to say…I mean I have so much to say..." The brunette trailed off, looking at Steve's sleeping face. "Like how angelic he looks when he sleeps. Or how blue his eyes are." She walked to the edge of his bed and sat next to him. "Or mad at am at him for always being the hero. Or how sorry I am that I won't be here when he wakes up." Valencia stared at Steve for a few moments, before licking her lips and turning to Sam. "Do you have a pen and paper?"

Sam shook his head but go up from his chair and opening the door. He poked his head out, "Hey can I get some pen and paper in here?" A nurse from the receptionist desk hurried over to him with one of the hospital's pens and a notepad. He nodded in thanks to the woman and closed the door, handing the supplies to Valencia.

"Thanks." She said, before rolling the bedside table to her and beginning to write. The notepad was small, so Valencia had to be brief with her words. After balling up the paper a few times and starting over, she finally wrote down what she wanted Steve to see when he first woke up.

'Steve,

I adore you and I'm sorry.

Valencia,

The brunette folded the note into a neat little square and checked the time. It was 3:30 and she had to be at the Amtrak station in twenty minutes. She bit her lip and handed the note to Sam.

"Please make sure he reads this as soon as he wakes up." Valencia said and Sam nodded to her. She walked back over to Steve and pressed her lips against his forehead softly, before turning to Sam and wrapping her arms around for a final time.

She pulled back and pecked her friend's cheek. "I have to go now." She said softly.

Sam nodded at her and grinned, "I'll see you later, Val."

Valencia beamed at him before wiping her eyes and letting go of him. She opened the door before turning around a final time to look at Sam.

The mahogany man winked at her, which made her smile as she closed the door behind her and started to head back home.


	15. Back Home

(A:N: We're almost at the end of the first installment. I'm super pumped to get started one Age of Ultron though so you'll have Val back sooner than you think. Also, how do you feel about Rebecca, Valencia's mom, as a character? Do you like her? Do you see how Fury and her could have been a couple? I like to think of them as the Mr and Mrs Smith of the Marvel world haha. They fight all the time by end up more in love. Hope you enjoy, leave a comment.)

Stepford homes with perfect green yards and molded shrubbery showed Valencia that she was, mere blocks from her childhood home. The brunette looked out the tinted window of the SUV, her foot tapping against the floor nervously. In only a few minutes, she would be face to face with her mother and her stepfather, trying to give an explanation as to where she has been and who she was with. To say she was nervous was an understatement.

"We will be at your home in less than ten minutes, Miss Fury." The driver informed her from the front seat.

Valencia absentmindedly nodded in response and sighed. She licked her lips before biting her bottom one and tried to think of the words to say to her parents.

Would a 'sorry' even come close to the appropriate response? But Valencia wasn't sorry...not by any stretch of the imagination was she sorry! She found her father, her real father, and she helped save the millions of lives. What was there to be sorry about? Though her mother had made her swore to not look for her father two years ago, Valencia was now grown and a twenty year old should not have to be scared of her mother.

"Miss Fury?" Valencia looked to her right and saw that they were in front of her house, well her parent's house. The brunette got out of the car and the door was shut behind her, the driver going to the trunk to get her duffle bag. The bronze woman looked up at her childhood home, examining it with a fond grin.

It was a two story medium sized home with a two car garage and a white picket fence wrapped around the green yard. The staple of suburbia, the home was similar to every other house on the block, the only difference being that Daniel had painted the door a pretty cherry red when Valencia was six because she had trouble finding the house when she was walking home. The house was composed of beige colored brick and had 19 windows on the front of the house; four on each side of the front door on the first level and four on each side of a large skylight on the top level. There was a chimney on the left side of the house, leading to the fireplace in the living room; which made for many exciting Christmases for a young Valencia. The house was perfect and her mother made sure of that before Valencia even came into this world. Rebecca searched far and wide for a house like that in a neighborhood like this where the schools were the best in the country; though her mother had lied to her and said that a distant family member had left it to the young couple before she was born. So many lies…

"Did you need anything else Miss Fury?" The driver asked.

Valencia shook herself out of her thoughts and looked to the side of her, seeing the man waiting on her response with a friendly smile. "Oh, no sir. Thank you for all your help." She said, reaching into her pocket for a tip.

"I can't except that ma'am." The man said, shaking his head, "You have a nice day, Miss Fury." With that, the driver got back in his car and Valencia watched the tinted SUV drive away from her.

Biting her lip, she turned back around to the red front door. She slowly walked up the path to the front door until she was right in front of it. She let out a quiet, ragged breath before knocking. She put her hand over the peephole when she heard footsteps coming up to the door.

The door began to open. "It's rude as hell to come to my house and knock on my damn door then cover my fucking peep-" Her mother's rant stopped and her eyes widened at the sight of Valencia. "Jesus Christ, Lena!" The older woman exclaimed wrapping her arms around her daughter.

Valencia hugged her mother tightly, "Momma!" She sobbed into her mother's shoulder.

Rebecca pulled back from their hug and cradled Valencia's face in her hands, looking over her daughter's face with her hazel eyes. She smiled softly letting Valencia go before her smile was replaced with a scowl and she smacked her daughter's arm.

"Ow!" Valencia exclaimed.

"Valencia Renee you have so much explaining to do." Her mother said lowly, glaring at her.

Valencia bit her lip and opened her mouth to defend herself but was cut off by her stepfather's voice.

"Is that my princess's voice I hear?" Daniel asked, peeking out from the doorframe.

"Dad!" Valencia exclaimed, pushing her mother out of the way and hugging Daniel.

The tall man chuckled and kissed the top of Valencia's head. "How ya doin, kiddo?"

"I have so much to tell you, Dad. You don't even know the half of it!"

Daniel let out a barking laugh and hugged his daughter tighter. Rebecca glared from the doorway at the two, her lips pursed in a straight line.

"You're not off the hook, you little heifer!" Rebecca muttered, grabbing Valencia's duffle bag and shutting the front door.

"So let me get this straight," Rebecca said. She and Valencia were now in the dining room of their home; Valencia sitting at the head of the table and Rebecca was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. She had given Valencia time to settle back into her room and made her a sandwich, before she started to interrogate the brunette. "You disobeyed me and found your father."

Valencia, chewing on her sandwich, nodded and replied, "Right."

"Then he faked his death?" Rebecca inquired, listing the things she was told off with her fingers.

"You got arrested." Rebecca listed and Valencia nodded, "Found out he was alive, then helped him take down S.H.I.E.L.D., that had been infiltrated by HYDRA?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"And at some point when all this was happening you met Captain America?"

Valencia nodded, taking a sip of her coke.

Rebecca was quiet for a minute, chewing on her bottom lip and staring at her daughter. After a moment of silence, the auburn haired woman just shrugged and smirked at her daughter. "Well at least you're alive. Is someone going to come looking for you?"

Valencia mirrored her mother's shrug, "Probably. Dad, er, Fury wanted me to come with him to Europe but I figured it would be better to come back here and lay low for a while."

"Very smart thinking, Lena." Rebecca praised, taking a seat next to Valencia. "So Lena," she started, leaning closer to her daughter, "How was your father?"

Valencia furrowed her brow before wiping the crumbs from her mouth. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, staring pointedly at her mother. "What do you mean, mother?"

"Don't take that tone with me, Lena!" Her mother exclaimed, before repeating lowly, "I mean how was he? Was he nice? Was he everything you thought he would be?"

The young brunette shrugged, getting up from the table and grabbing her plate and cup before walking into the kitchen to wash her dishes. Her mother followed after her with a glare in her green eyes.

"Well?" Rebecca asked, leaning against the kitchen counter.

"He was fine, mom. Very protective." Valencia offered, scrubbing away at her plate in the sink.

"What did he say when you told him he was your father?" Rebecca questioned.

Valencia frowned, "He said that I was mistaken, and that you slept with so many men during that time that anyone could be my father."

Rebecca's eyes narrowed, "That dick!" She growled out, "He knows he's the only one I slept with the year you were conceived!"

"Don't be too mad, Mom. I slapped him when he said that." Valencia said, smirking at her mother.

Rebecca snorted and patted her daughter on the back, "Good." After a moment, the auburn haired woman whispered to Valencia, "...Was he seeing someone?"

Valencia threw her plate down in the sink with a huff before turning away from her mother and walking to the living room.

"What?" Her mother called after her, "It's just a question! Lena!"

The brunette rolled her eyes at her mother's childish behavior before sitting down next to Daniel on the couch. "What is this, Dad?" She asked, after seeing that he was watching CNN.

"Something about all that ruckus in DC, pudding." Her stepfather answered her, watching the screen intently.

The news was showing the helicarriers falling into the Potomac and the title below the video was 'Where's Captain America?'.

Valencia swallowed thickly before biting her lip. From the the video, she could see Steve and the metal-armed man falling into the water from the helicarrier, and something in her chest started to grow tight. The video then changed to the helicopter on the roof of the S.H.I.E.L.D. building that had picked up her and Maria. From the video, one could see Maria and Valencia hobbling to the helicopter, but their faces weren't visible.

"That's me!" Valencia muttered to herself, her eyes wide.

"Who's that woman?" Rebecca whispered to Valencia, sitting next to her daughter.

"Maria, she was another agent that helped take down the helicarriers." Valencia explained lowly, obviously leaving out the fact the Maria was dating her father.

"Maria Hill?" Her mother asked, "I remember her, when I was still instated she was a very low agent, she did paperwork and things like that. I can't believe she's a field agent now."

Valencia held in a smart remark to her mother about Maria, as she watched the news reporters argue back and forth.

"You know," Her mother started, looking over to Valencia, "We're going to have to change your look, so if someone does come here looking for you, you won't be recognizable."

Valencia nodded to her mother, "Yeah I know."

"We need to continue training more too, we should start Monday."

"What are you two whispering about?" Daniel asked, casting a glance to his daughter and wife.

"Nothing, darling. I was just telling Valencia that she can come work at the office with me during the week." Rebecca lied easily, putting an arm around Valencia.

"What about school kiddo?" Daniel asked Valencia.

"I missed a few classes and it would be impossible for me to catch up, so I'm going to take a year off and really decide what I want to do, Dad." Valencia explained.

"That's very mature of you, pudding!" Daniel said, ruffling Valencia's hair, before turning his attention back to the television.

"How much class did you miss, Valencia?" Her mother asked her lowly.

Valencia bit her lip nervously. "Two weeks worth?" She said sheepishly.

Rebecca's jaw clenched and she yanked a strand of Valencia's hair.

Valencia pouted to her mother, "I was saving the world!" She whispered defensively, rubbing the sore spot on her scalp.

"Saving the world my ass!" Her mother muttered, "You should have been saving them damn books!"

Valencia crossed her arms but said nothing back to her mother, instead focusing on the television, that was now turned to CSPAN, where a press conference was being held.

"Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" A ballif recited, and the camera zoomed back to reveal Natasha.

Valencia held in a gasp as she watched her friend be questioned on television.

"She's cute." Her mother said, simply. "I love her hair color."

"It's close to your's Bec, except her's is more orangey." Daniel replied thoughtfully.

"Could you guys quiet down?" Valencia softly asked, "I want to watch this."

Rebecca looked at her daughter with a smirk at the same time Daniel looked at her confusedly.

"Well he could explain how this country is expected to maintain its national security now that he and you have laid was to our intelligence apparatus." A committee member said.

"HYDRA was selling you lies not intelligence." Natasha answered.

"Many of which you seemed to have a personal hand in telling." The committee member interrupted her.

"Agent," Another member started, "You should know that there are some of us on this committee who feel, given your service record, both for this country and against it, that you belong in a penitentiary. Not mouthing off on Capitol Hill."

Valencia glared at the man on the screen, "Mouthing off? She's answering their questions!" She exclaimed.

Natasha smirked, as if she had heard Valencia and said, "You're not going to put me in a prison. You're not going to put any of us in prison. You know why?" She asked slowly.

"Do enlighten us." The committee member remarked, offended.

"You need us. Yes the world is a vulnerable place, and yes we help make it that way. But we're also the ones qualified to defend it. So if you want to arrest me, arrest me. You know where to find me." Natasha finished, got up from her chair and left the room, reporter's shouting after her.

"I like that one." Rebecca muttered to her daughter.

Valencia snorted at her mother's response. She felt like coming through the television screen and hugging Natasha then flipping the bird to that sexist committee. She was sure going to miss the brazen redhead, even if the brunette did knock her out the first time they met.


	16. Epilogue

(A/N: It's over guys. Break out the tissues and chocolates. But keep a look out for the next installment, yet to be named, that is coming next week. Or maybe even this weekend... Anyway I love you guys thank you for commenting and favoriting and alerting this story! You all really kept me inspired to write continue writing this and I'm happy that you loved Val as much as I did. I don't mean to get all sentimental haha but thank you all. As a last hurrah, tell me your favorite moment from this story in the comments! My favorite moment was when Val met Sam, and maybe when Steve and Val saw each other at the museum.)

'Left, right, shuffle, duck! Punch, move back, duck, rush forward, pun- oof!' Valencia's thoughts were interrupted as she was tackled to the ground by her mother.

"God Valencia!" Rebecca exclaimed, her fist stopping just short of Valencia's face, "Stop thinking so hard." She helped her daughter up from the ground. The two were currently in a private training room at a gym in Old Towne.

It had been two months since Valencia had return home and several things in her life had changed. She had stopped going to school, she'd gotten braids in her hair and colored it a light brown, and she now worked at her mother's real estate company as a receptionist. After a month of being Valencia Fury, daughter of Nicholas J., she was now back to being plain old Valencia Smith, daughter of Dan and Becca.

"Square up, Valencia!" Her mother's voice brought her out of her thoughts, "That was sloppy as hell, do it again."

The bronze girl sighed and did as she was told. The two circled each other, taking slow steps around the matted gym. Suddenly, the sound of a bird taking off distracted Valencia and her eyes left her mother for a beat, but that was all Rebecca need. The older woman chopped her daughter in her throat, making the young girl grab at her neck and choke. Rebecca then punched Valencia in her stomach, making the young girl's hands dart to her abdomen, with Valencia's guard down, Rebecca elbowed the girl in her back, making her fall to the mat.

"Get up!" Rebecca yelled at the fallen girl. Valencia groaned but got back up, raising her fists once again.

"You think I give a damn that you knocked out Natalia Romanov?" Rebecca let out a crude snicker, "That redheaded russian bitch ain't got shit on me. AGAIN!"

Valencia's nostrils flared and her brown eyes were fixated in a glare as she circled her mother. Once again it was silent all around the two women and sunshine was streaming in through the windows. The sound of their soft breathing echoed throughout the silent room.

Valencia's fist jutted out towards her mother and as expected, her mother smoothly move to the side of her fist, jutting her own toward Valencia. Valencia ducked out of the way and grabbed her mother's outstretched arm toward her, bending her knees and flipping her mother over her shoulder.

The two were now back to back and Valencia was still holding on to her mother's arm. Rebecca elbowed Valencia in her back and pushed her hand out, pushing Valencia away from her. The two quickly turned to face each other and ran toward one another. Rebecca threw the first punch and Valencia blocked it, throwing a punch of her own. The hit landed, but Rebecca quickly retaliated by hitting Valencia in her abdomen.

Knowing this was a common trick her mother used to knock her off her defenses, Valencia moved her hands to her middle, pretending to cradle her stomach, causing Rebecca to begin to bring her elbow down on her back. But Valencia quickly moved back and cupped her hands together, bring them down on her mother's back with a thump, causing the older woman to fall to the ground with an 'oomph'. Valencia used her foot to roll her mother over and straddled her, launching her fist towards her mother's face before stopping just short.

"I win." Valencia said with a smirk, getting off her mother. She held out a hand to Rebecca and she took it, getting up from the matted floor.

"See what happens when you start thinking smarter?" Rebecca noted, out of breath, "You started playing defense instead of offense. Always dodge hits as much as possible first, make your opponent think they have you. And when they get tired...BAM! Knife to the throat!" The auburn haired woman exclaimed.

Valencia snorted and took a sip of water from her water bottle, "Yeah okay. Can we go now? We have work tomorrow."

Rebecca laughed and wrapped an arm around Valencia as the two walked out the gym. They walked to the garage and got in Rebecca's car, an Audi A8, and drove out of the gym's parking garage.

"So," Rebecca started, taking a left turn, "Tell me more about this 'Sam' guy. Was he cute?" She asked glancing at her daughter with a grin.

"Adorable." The braided brunette replied, smiling to herself.

"Uh oh." The curly haired older woman said, "Adorable is a word used for friends, not lovers. What was wrong with him?" She inquired.

Valencia shook her head sadly, "Nothing was wrong with him." She paused, biting her lip. "I just met someone else."

"Mhmm." Her mother muttered, now getting on the highway. "Is that where the captain comes in? I swear that man could fold my flag anyday."

"Mother!" Valencia exclaimed. "Please stop, he was almost my boyfriend."

Rebecca rolled her eyes, "Lena dear, he's at least 95, old enough to be your grandfather."

The younger woman crossed her arms, "Says the woman who dated someone twenty years her senior."

"Twenty, not seventy fucking five." Her mother quipped back. "And what's the deal with him, you never told me. What happened when you went to the hospital?"

Valencia bit her a lip, "I left him a note."

Rebecca smirked, "Oh, how me of you. What did it say?" She asked, taking an exit of the highway.

"It's a secret, Mom." Valencia said, then followed up with a smirk, "I'll tell you in eighteen years."

"Cute." Her mother remarked, rolling her eyes. The two then rode in silence for the remainder of the ride home.

Rebecca pulled up to the house and parked the car in the driveway. The two women padded up the walkway to the front door and were startled when the bright red door suddenly opened, making them go into defensive mode.

"My girls!" Daniel exclaimed, wrapping his arms around Valencia and Rebecca. The two instantly relaxed and laughed, hugging Daniel back. The tall man stepped back and let the two women in, closing the door behind them.

"How was Zumba class ladies?" Daniel asked as he led them to the dining room. "I made spaghetti!"

"I was fun, Dad." Valencia answered as they all took a seat at the dining room table. "Very invigorating, right Mom?"

Rebecca daintily used a spoon and a fork to gather her spaghetti noodles and replied, "Yes, very invigorating. They even added new songs to switch things up a bit. How was your day, dear?"

"The usual love." Daniel said with a grin, stuffing spaghetti in his mouth. "Meetings with other department heads and such. How was work with you two?"

"It was wonderful. Ron found some dynamite properties that we can flip and sell. He even…."

Valencia tuned out her mother's rambling as her mind wandered, as it usually did during the months of her being home. She would think about anything from Steve to her father, or even the people she killed during her week of being a spy. Her mother had told her not to dwell on the lives she took because it was either them or her, but Valencia, being the kind soul she was, could not help but dwell on such things. She had an unimaginable feeling of guilt welled up inside of her and she couldn't take her mind off of it. Valencia was fine when her mind was occupied, but at times like this when her mind would wander, she would get swallowed by her guilt. Unlike Valencia's mother, the young brunette could not just let her feelings roll off her back; the young girl wasn't that strong….yet.

"Lena?"

Valencia was brought out of her trance to her mother looking at her with a worried face, "Huh?"

Rebecca's eyes skimmed Valencia's face and after a beat, she shook her head. "Nevermind." She replied, before giving Valencia a very motherly look that told her that the conversation wasn't over.

After dinner, Valencia took a long, much needed shower. As the water rolled down the brunette's back, the sound of sobs bounced of the porcelain walls around her. After an hour of standing under the water, Valencia cut off the shower and dried herself off. She put on a pair of pajama shorts and a tank top then folded her towel and placed it on the toilet seat.

Stepping out of her bathroom and into her room, Valencia was surprised to find her mother sitting with her legs crossed on her bed.

"What's up, Mom?" Valencia asked coolly, sitting next to her mother.

"I worried about you, Lena bird." Rebecca said, her hazel eyes scanning Valencia's face. "You're always distracted, with this far off look in your eyes."

Valencia shook her head and smiled softly at her mother, "I'm not sure what you mean."

Rebecca narrowed her eyes at her daughter and said hardly, "Don't lie to me, Lena." Valencia's smile dropped and her brown eyes looked away from her mother. Rebecca gently turned the brunette's face back to hers, "Look at your face, babygirl… I know that look."

Tears started to well up in Valencia's eyes. "What look?" She muttered, biting her lip.

"Like you've lost your only friend in the world." Rebecca started, lightly stroking Valencia's cheek with her soft hand. She smiled sadly, "It's the look I had after I left your father. Lena, you don't have to go through this alone. Talk to me. Help me understand how you're feeling, what you're feeling. Just talk to me please."

Valencia released her lip from her teeth and frowned sorrowly. "I just feel so empty. Like I'm by myself. All of my friends here are gone to school to start their life and I'm back home halting mine. So much has changed in a month's time. I have a new last name, a new occupation, a new dream. I…" The young woman paused and swallowed thickly, collecting her thoughts. "For two years, I felt like I didn't know who I was. I felt unsure about my future, I mean sure I was going to school for business but it always felt wrong. But now, I have all the answers to my questions, but I don't know what to do with them."

Rebecca bit her lip and thought for a moment before opening her mouth and saying, "The only thing you can do is live, Valencia." The young woman looked at her mother confusedly. "So sure, you have a new last name now, and yes you helped save the world on one occasion. But that doesn't change who you are. You're my Lena bird." The auburn haired woman stroked her daughter's cheek with a smile, "You're strong. You're smart. You're amazing and everything I wish I was at twenty. Not to mention your beauty, but that's only because you look like me." She winked, making Valencia snort. "See? You're all the best pieces of me. And I know you hate me for keeping your father from you but deep down inside I knew you would find him eventually because you're a little bit of both Nick and I, you inquisitive little shit. And I should have known that when you found him you get wrapped up in his mess because that's your father for you. The bastard always had shit going on…" Rebecca's eyes narrowed for a moment but then she shook her head with a smile, "My point is Lena, you're going to be fine. Even though it hurts right now and you're missing your father, your friends, and your love-"

"I don't love him, Mom." Valencia interjected. A smile had begin forming on her face from her mother's kind words.

Rebecca raised a graceful brow, "Don't interrupt sweetheart. It hurts now because you're missing your love but it's going to be alright, because it will pass. Everything will pass. Even if you never see them again, it'll be alright, because you have-"

"Please don't say you." Valencia interrupted again jokingly, quickly adding, "No offense."

Her mother glared at her, "I was going to say you have yourself. But since you want to be an asshole to the person who left her comfortable and plush life as a spy for you, married and bought a house, went to real estate school, and laid in a fucking pool naked and gave birth to your chubby baby ass naturally and drug free then fine!"

"Mom-" Valencia started but was interrupted. "No!" Rebecca exclaimed turning away from her daughter with a pout. Valencia rolled her eyes at her mother's immaturity and bit her lip to hide her smile.

"Mommy!" She cooed, hugging her mother's back. "I'm sorry. I'm an ungrateful brat who doesn't deserve a beautiful, caring mother like you, Rebecca Jane."

"And don't forget it, Valencia Renee." Her mother grumbled, turning around and hugging the young brunette. "I love you, Lena bird, and I'm sure that Nicholas and Steve do too."

Valencia rolled her eyes at her mother mentioning her Captain but smiled nonetheless, "I love you too Mom."


End file.
